Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out laws that could pave the way to deport the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, as the government plans to threaten Pakistan if it does not take the offender back.Ms Mahmood announced that she would change the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which passed its second reading in the Commons on Monday night, to remove immunity under the 1971 Immigration Act which would prevent Shabir Ahmed being deported. However, she admitted in the Commons that despite the potential law change, she would be unable to deport him unless Islamabad agrees to do so. Also on Monday, the government indicated that Pakistan could be threatened with visa restrictions unless it takes him back.News of Ahmed’s release from prison was met with public outcry earlier this month, after it emerged the government was unable to deport him due to the legal loophole. Ahmed was released on 2 July after serving 14 years since his conviction in 2012 for rape and sexual offences against girls, some as young as 12. He had been sentenced to 19 years in prison, but the Immigration Act 1971 prevented his removal back to Pakistan. The 1971 law forbids the removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.Home secretary Shabana Mahmood says she will continue to work all avenues to pursue deportation of Shabir Ahmed (PA Wire)Ms Mahmood told the Commons on Monday: “On the subject of deporting foreign criminals, the government intends to bring forward an amendment to this bill in response to the widely-reported case of the vile grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed. “Our amendment will provide the home secretary with a new power to disapply Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for serious criminals. This provides protection for long-term UK residents, but clearly should not be acting as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed.“The threshold for this power would be tied to the power to deprive citizenship, which applies only in cases of exceptional severity. It is important to note this does not guarantee his removal from this country, those opposite know all too well from their own experience that.“The foreign secretary and I will continue to work all avenues to pursue a deportation.”Amendments to the bill will come later in the process at the committee and report stage.Shabir Ahmed’s release from prison was met with public outcry earlier this month (PA Media)Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Conservatives support efforts to remove Ahmed by changing the law. But he urged the government to consider emergency legislation, rather than waiting until the 75-page Immigration and Asylum Bill is agreed.“There’s not a moment to lose and this can quite quickly be fixed,” he added.On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesperson acknowledged that changing the law was only the first step in deporting Ahmed.The spokesperson said: “The country of origin must agree to take these vile criminals back and that’s why we’re working across government to explore every option in this case.”Asked if that included the possibility of refusing to issue visas, the spokesperson said: “I think we’ve been clear that all options remain on the table where countries don’t cooperate on the return of their nationals.”Victims’ minister Catherine Atkinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the threat of visa restrictions has produced results before.She said the home secretary “has been absolutely clear that this government will take action to see Shabir Ahmed removed, and we’ve seen the success that she has had when it comes to removals in previous cases”.“I think she threatened visa penalties for Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo unless they took back illegal immigrants,” she said.“And four months later, all three were cooperating.”However, Pakistan is not expected to accept Ahmed. The country is reportedly demanding the extradition of two political dissidents from the UK in order to do so.