Andy Burnham’s grooming gang hypocrisy

“Here we go again!” That’s what I find myself thinking as I watch the latest “confusion” surrounding the early release of serious sexual offenders and murderers. Another headline. Another announcement. Another promise. Then, within days, another clarification, as it becomes clear that the “experts” making the announcements hadn’t fully understood the law to start with. The recent case of Shabir Ahmed, ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang, illustrates the problem perfectly. His victims were repeatedly told he would be deported upon being released from prison, only to discover that a decades-old legal provision meant this had never actually been possible, with the Government scrambling to find a work-around. And now, we see the same pattern over early release. Grand announcements are made,