Pakistani-born Ahmed, 73, was living at a hostel in Accrington, Lancashire, but he was forced to leave when furious locals discovered who was living in their midst after his address was revealed online13:05, 16 Jul 2026Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed has been moved from the hostel where he had been housed after the location was revealed on social media.‌Pakistani-born Ahmed, 73, known to his victims as “Daddy”, led a nine-strong group, all of whom were found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13. He was convicted of multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls in 2012 and spent 14 years behind bars before he was released on July 2.‌There was local uproar after the address of the hostel he was being housed in, in Accrington, Lancashire, was leaked online.‌Ahmed cannot return to his former home address in Oldham and is also excluded from parts of Rochdale. He is subject to a string of licence conditions including staying at approved accommodation staffed 24 hours a day.The 73-year-old has been stripped of his British citizenship leaving him with only Pakistani citizenship. However, he cannot currently be deported due to a 1971 law that forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.Hyndburn MP Sarah Smith said she had put pressure on the authorities to have him moved elsewhere.‌"Since finding out that Shabir Ahmed had been released from prison into Hyndburn, I did everything in my power to get him removed. I can confirm that he has been moved," Ms Smith said in a statement."My thanks go to the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, and Lancashire Police for ensuring this outcome. I am disgusted that he was ever here in the first place, and I join other MP colleagues who have been calling for a much wider exclusion zone so that he is not placed in Lancashire or the North West.‌"He must be deported as soon as possible, and I am pleased the Government is taking steps to secure this."My first thoughts are with his victims. His release will bring back unimaginable trauma for the women whose lives were changed forever by his sickening crimes."They deserved to know that once he left prison, he would leave this country. Instead, they have been told he remains here, far too close to the scenes of his crimes and to his victims.‌"This man came to this country, led one of the most notorious child grooming gangs in British history, subjected children to vile abuse, and it is deeply shocking that he was then released into our community. He shouldn't be here. He is not a British citizen, and he should be deported immediately."A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Public protection is our top priority. This offender is subject to the toughest supervision possible and he will be on the sex offenders register for life.“He is also banned from contacting his victims, or any child or young person, and has his movements tracked.”‌The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood this week announced plans to Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is passing through the Commons, to remove immunity under the 1971 Immigration Act. The 1971 law forbids the removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.However she admitted in the Commons that despite the potential law change, she would be unable to deport him unless Pakistan agrees to do so, the Manchester Evening News reported.Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the BBC : "The matter in question is entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom.Article continues below"The individual concerned is a British national who spent his entire adult life in the UK and was duly convicted by a British court for reprehensible offences committed on British soil."Any decision regarding his release, supervision of usual legal status, falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the competent British authorities and must be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom.”