The ringleader of the Rochdale child sex grooming gang has claimed he was convicted due to a conspiracy to “scapegoat” Muslims in Britain.

Shabir Ahmed, 63, was convicted of multiple child sex offences in 2012, but has now written to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to appeal against his deportation from Britain.

Mr Ahmed, who is serving 22 years in jail, was found to be part of a gang of Muslim men who preyed on girls as young as 13 in town of Rochdale. They plied the girls with drink and drugs before “passing them around” to be abused.

Appearing before the First Tier Immigration Tribunal yesterday, Mr Ahmed said: “[Home Secretary Theresa May] says all her trouble is coming from Muslims, yet she’s the biggest trouble causer in the world.”

He said he was convicted by “eleven white jurors” and added: “It’s become fashionable to blame everything on Muslims these days.”

His appeal alleges his trial was a “miscarriage of justice”, “tainted”, “institutionally racist” and used Muslims as “scapegoats”.

Speaking for the Home Office, Vinesh Mandalia told the tribunal that Mr Ahmed’s appeal against his deportation included an appeal to the ECHR, which had been acknowledged by the court.

Mrs May stripped Mr Ahmed of his British citizenship after his conviction in the first step towards deporting him from Britain. He was born in Pakistan and first came to Britain in 1967 aged 14 before obtaining British citizenship.

The Home Secretary is allowed to strip people who were not born in Britain of their citizenship if it is “conducive to the public good”.

Mr Ahmed received a 19-year sentence at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2012 for multiple sex offences, including rape of a child. He was also given another 22 years, to run concurrently, two months later for 30 rapes against one victim.