YOUTUBE•PH Justice McCloskey blasted the behaviour of the lawyers defending the four criminals.

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Justice Bernard McCloskey accused taxpayer-funded representatives of the gang of “weakening the rule of law”, and blasted their behaviour as “frankly shameful”.



The ruling came in response to the appeal made by the Rochdale sex gang against Theresa May’s decision in 2012 to strip them of their British citizenship to begin the process of deporting them.

The four men, led by Shabir Ahmed, 63, were convicted in 2012 of giving girls in Rochdale as young as 13 drink and drugs, before they were “passed around” for sex.



Ahmed, who was handed 19-year and 22-year sentences almost half a decade ago for his heinous crimes, has since appealed against both against deportation and to the European Court of Human Rights, accusing police and jury members of a “conspiracy” to scapegoat Muslims.



Three other men convicted in the same case, Abdul Aziz, Adil Khan and Abdul Rauf, are also appealing against being stripped of their citizenship.

PH Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader, was given 19-year and 22-year sentences in 2012.

Their solicitors, Nottingham-based firm Burton and Burton, have now been accused of “gaming the system” and using delay tactics to draw out the case.



In a damning indictment of the lawyers’ conduct, Justice McCloskey, of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, said: “The conduct of these appeals has been cavalier and unprofessional. The rule of law has been weakened in consequence.”



Burton and Burton are funded by the taxpayer via legal aid, with their fees said to be £50 to £70 an hour – according to the Telegraph – which could accumulate to thousands of pounds over the course of a case.

PH Aziz, left, was sentenced to nine years. Khan, right, was sentenced to 18.

The Justice also said the convicts’ barristers and solicitors failed to submit necessary papers to court and repeatedly asked for adjournments.



He added: “Scarce judicial and administrative resources have been wasted in dealing with repeated unmeritorious requests by the appellants’ solicitors for an adjournments.”



Mr McCloskey also criticised lawyers representing the Home Secretary for producing a skeleton argument at the “eleventh hour” after repeated requests from the tribunal.

PA Rauf was sentenced to six years.

He said: “It was produced in egregious breach of the tribunal’s directions… a feeble and unacceptable excuse for this particular default has been proffered.”



The judge has threatened to refer the lawyer’s handling the Rochdale gang’s appeals to their professional bodies for disciplinary action, and warned they could be held in contempt of court.

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