Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will on Monday outline the legal steps she plans to take to deport Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang, who was released from prison on licence earlier this month after serving 22 years for child sexual offences. Ahmed, stripped of his British citizenship after his 2012 conviction, now holds only Pakistani nationality - which would normally make him deportable. However, a 1971 law prevents the removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago, and Ahmed, who arrived before 1973, is protected by it.

Mahmood's plan to change the law is still vague, and it remains unclear how quickly it can be done - government sources suggest up to a year. Meanwhile, Pakistan has shown no interest in taking Ahmed back, who claims to have renounced his Pakistani citizenship. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has suggested sanctions, such as restricting visas for Pakistanis, if the country refuses to accept Ahmed. The Conservatives are pushing for emergency legislation to expedite the process, which they claim could take weeks.

Ahmed, one of nine men convicted of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants in Rochdale and Oldham, is currently housed in 24-hour staffed accommodation with a GPS tag. His victims have expressed fear and a sense of unsafety upon his release. Mahmood's announcement follows calls from grooming gang survivors urging the exclusion of sex offenders from early release, and comes less than a week after survivors made that plea.