Anger as members of Rochdale grooming gang get legal aid to fight deportation… after already receiving £1m to unsuccessfully defend their criminal charges

Get the full story here: Daily Mail, 27 July 2017, link.

Members of an Asian grooming gang are being given legal aid to fight deportation – after it emerged they have already received more than a £1million to unsuccessfully defend criminal charges.

There was outrage last night as it was revealed the paedophiles – who preyed on girls as young as 13 – are getting more taxpayers’ money to battle moves to strip them of their British passports and send them back to Pakistan.

The case is particularly sickening because, despite the depraved nature of their crimes, the men are trying to exploit Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which safeguards the right to family life.

The four – who raped, abused and tormented young girls – claim booting them out of the country will harm their families. […]

David Spencer, of the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank, said: ‘These men have been convicted of some truly abhorrent offences and it beggars belief that they are now able to run up even bigger taxpayer-funded bills making spurious appeals in an effort to extend their stay in the UK.

‘These men clearly pose a threat to public safety. If someone is born overseas and commit such crimes in the UK, it is absolutely right that their citizenship should be revoked.’

Get the full story here: Daily Mail, 27 July 2017, link.