Calls to deport Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed have been growing since his release from prison.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to change the law to help deport the freed ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang. Calls have mounted for the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, who had dual British-Pakistani citizenship before being stripped of the former following his 2012 conviction for multiple counts of child sexual offences. Ahmed, who was jailed for 22 years and released on licence this month, cannot be deported due to a 1971 law forbidding the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago. Under the proposed amendment, foreign criminals will no longer benefit from these protections where they are guilty of some serious crimes. It would bring the law on deportation in line with the law on the removal of citizenship. Mahmood said the 1971 Act provided protections for long-term UK residents but "should not be used as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed". But the Home Office said Ahmed's removal depends on Pakistan accepting him. At the moment, it appears Pakistan has no intention of accepting Ahmed, who claims to have renounced his Pakistani citizenship. The government would continue to "explore all avenues to pursue a deportation", Mahmood added.