Simon Danczuk
Main Page: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)Department Debates - View all Simon Danczuk's debates with the Ministry of Justice
Foreign National Offenders
Simon Danczuk Excerpts(7 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Hollobone
I will be delighted to give way to both Members, but I feel I should give way to Rochdale first.
Simon Danczuk
I thank the hon. Gentleman, not least for securing what is a very important debate. He mentioned Pakistan. People will remember Shabir Ahmed who is serving more than 40 years for raping dozens of children as part of the Rochdale grooming gang. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that he should be deported to Pakistan to see what he thinks of prison there?
Mr Hollobone
That is a very sensible suggestion. I am not aware of all the details of the horrific crimes that that unpleasant gentleman has committed, but I do not see why British taxpayers should pay for him to be in prison—Pakistani taxpayers should. In fact, I would go further. I take the view that if a foreign national in this country commits a crime for which they are potentially imprisonable, they should be deported and banned from ever returning, whether they are in prison or not.
Mr Gyimah
I can confirm that I have met the Minister for Immigration twice in the past two months. He has the levers to remove people. I met him only this week. We have widened the meeting to include Ministers from the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development. We have got an ambitious programme and clear actions to take forward. We have agreed to meet as often as possible to give the issue the ministerial attention it deserves. In addition, we are making sure that when other Government Ministers meet Ministers in countries with which we have a concern about foreign nationals, this issue is included as a top priority in their briefing pack to raise with and get feedback from Ministers of those Governments, so that we can act on that.
Simon Danczuk
Will the Minister do all that he can to ensure that Shabir Ahmed is deported to a prison in Pakistan?