London: Four men convicted of grooming girls for sex in a case that fuelled racial tensions in Britain are facing deportation to Pakistan after a judge upheld a government decision to strip them of British citizenship.
The ruling by an immigration tribunal on Thursday clears the way for the men, all of Pakistani nationality, to be removed from Britain. They acquired British citizenship by naturalisation.
They were among nine men of Pakistani and Afghan descent convicted of luring girls as young as 13 into sexual encounters using alcohol and drugs. They were based in Rochdale, in northern England.
Among the four facing deportation is ringleader Shabir Ahmed, sentenced in 2012 to 22 years in jail. The other three are Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz.
