If you want to understand why the mainstream parties struggle to gain support, and why Reform is leading the polls, one name will suffice: Shabir Ahmed.

Shabir Ahmed (pictured), 73, a key figure in the Rochdale grooming gangs, is set to be released from prison within a matter of days.

Shabir Ahmed, 73, known to his victims as “Daddy”, was jailed in 2012 for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester