The ruling paves the way for the men, all of Pakistani nationality who acquired British citizenship by naturalisation, to be removed from the UK.

Among the group whose claims were thrown out is Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a group of men who preyed on girls in Rochdale.

He is serving a 22-year jail sentence after being convicted of a string of offences in 2012.

The other three claimants are Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz.

The case centres on decisions by then home secretary Theresa May proposing to deprive the men of their British citizenship on the grounds that it would be "conducive to the public good".

Handing down the judgment, Mr Justice McCloskey, president of the Upper Tribunal, said the cases were "of some notoriety", and described the men's crimes as "shocking, brutal and repulsive".

He dismissed five different grounds of appeal - including an argument advanced by three of the men that the Government had failed in a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children.