𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

As this is being written, there’s every possibility one of the dozens of girls and young women who were drugged, raped and trafficked by the child sex pervert and leader of the Rochdale grooming gang could come face to face with the man who raped them and ruined their young life. Also, as this is being written the Government is “examining every option” to take action against Shabir Ahmed, the 73-year-old ringleader who liked to be known as ‘Daddy’ as he arranged for girls, some as young as 12, to be ferried to and from seedy rooms above fast food shops where men paid cash before engaging in gang rape.

He was jailed in 2012 for 22 years for multiple rape and child sexual offences, but last week he was allowed to walk free knowing he cannot be deported to his native Pakistan. This is because the rapist arrived here before 1971 when Pakistan was part of the Commonwealth and he has lived here long enough to qualify for the exemption.

This is of course indefensible drivel, with the first question being: how come he was even allowed early release after the severity of his crimes? A sentence of 22 years in 2012 should have resulted in him not enjoying a single day of freedom before 2034 – another six years in jail taking him to nearly 80. Having been stripped of his British citizenship he should have been on the first plane back to Pakistan, but this cannot now happen.

Secondly, why are the victims being ignored? As Ruby, who was brave enough to come forward and was raped by the gang over 100 times from the age of 12 told the BBC: “There has been no support for the victims of abuse. There is no team of people in place – despite the Government saying there would be. I am scared for my safety and my children’s safety.”

What seems utterly incomprehensible is how it appears the law can be bent in whichever direction that ensures the United Kingdom has the rawest of deals.

Thousands arrive here on small boats with no form of identification and we cannot deport them. Others arrive from other countries with papers and claim they could be victims of some type of persecution and, again, we cannot deport them.

A child rapist blights the lives of so many victims over such a long period and we cannot get rid of him either! Is it really any wonder a growing number of people consider we are being taken for a ride?

In opposition, Andy Burnham challenged the Conservative government “to do everything possible” to get similar sex offenders out of the country and last week he posted on social media he expected the Home and Foreign Secretaries to “review all possible options, and they should consider nothing is off the table.”

Soon Burnham will be in a position to act more directly in such cases.

But until then we have a government packed full of lawyers, seemingly unable to change the law… unless it’s to allow the pubs to stay open.

All hail Queen Camilla! While studiously ensuring she didn’t stray into the forbidden territory of being seen to endorse any political message, this delightful picture of her posing with genius writer JK Rowling can be seen to have quite a significant message behind it.

As the Queen met with the Harry Potter creator at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to discuss “young children’s access to books,” it is a sign of how venal and self-obsessed many of the campaigners must be to post messages stating the Queen is “deplorable” and “tone deaf.”

To these people The Famous Five is akin to right wing dogma so Rowling’s admirable determination to stick to her views that women’s changing rooms should be safe spaces and women’s sport should be the preserve of women is to be applauded.

If a picture paints a thousand words, this one actually only needs two.

“Common” and “sense.”

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Devolution gave us governments in Wales and Scotland plus a raft of mayors. Enough said?

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An incomprehensible move

At which government department would you imagine having a head for figures would be quite beneficial?

Yes, the Treasury would seem a good place to start, so what are we to make of the news it dropped its numeracy test in an attempt to hire more diverse graduates?

It has been replaced by the ‘Civil Service Strengths Test’ which asks graduates if they agree with statements such as “I prefer not to have to concentrate on one thing for too long.”

When will the number be up for this ideological claptrap?

True north

If, as our new PM Andy Burnham tells us, Manchester is “the north,” what does that make Cumbria? Or much of Yorkshire? Or Tyneside and Teesside? Or the Lake District? Or Durham?

Perfect metaphor

So the parting gesture from Sir Keir Starmer and his equally uninspiring Chancellor Rachel Reeves is a much-trumpeted boost in defence spending. However, it is not fully costed and vague on much detail and has attracted almost universal condemnation from a battalion of former military top brass as being out of touch and providing too little, too late.

A perfect metaphor for this dull duo.

The hard way

Planning an early night? As it’s impossible to fake a dentist’s appointment or schedule a business meeting for 1am, if you want to see England on Monday morning you must do it the hard way.

Expect bleary eyes at offices and factories up and down the land and no shortage of crotchety schoolchildren.

Here’s hoping if there’s a “hand of God” again (Azteca Stadium, 1986) this time it’s on our side!