Rupert Lowe just called for Trump-style threat to Pakistan over grooming gang criminals  - but how many could be deported out of UK jails?

A statement from President Gustavo Petro said he had "arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots", walking back his previous stance after Trump threatened a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming into the US from Colombia, which would jump to 50 per cent after just one week.

The US President also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, as well as "allies and supporters".

The effectiveness of Trump's hard-nosed approach prompted Lowe to make a similar threat to Pakistan over the grooming gangs scandal, whereby groups of predominantly Pakistani men raped and trafficked white working-class girls across towns and cities in the UK.

Scores of abusers are languishing in Britain's jails as calls grow for them to be deported.

Taking to Twitter, the MP for Great Yarmouth wrote: "Trump unleashes a wave of punishment measures on Colombia after they refuse to accept deportees from the US.

"This is the way - we must follow. Starting with the £133 million going to Pakistan in foreign aid. Use that to get foreign rapists and criminals OUT of our country."

In a follow-up tweet, he wrote: "Colombia caves. Pakistan, and many others, would do the same if our cowardly Government applied ANY pressure in order to deport foreign rapists and criminals. Do what needs to be done. Trump did, it worked."

Following on from Lowe's controversial policy, we have investigated how many grooming gang abusers of predominantly Pakistani heritage are currently being held in our prisons.

So, how many?

Determining the exact number of individuals of Pakistani heritage currently incarcerated in UK prisons for grooming gang offences is challenging due to the scarcity of publicly available data.

Also, differentiating child sexual abuse (CSA) from other types of child abuse, such as child sexual exploitation (CSE), a sub-category of CSE and group localised child sexual exploitation (GLCSE), another sub-category of CSE that encompasses groups sexually exploiting children in a neighbourhood setting, has led to different profiles being identified.

However, researchers have used techniques to calculate the number.

In a 2020 paper entitled "Group Localised Child Sexual Exploitation Offenders: Who and Why?", researchers analysed the evidence in the public domain in two different ways.

First, they collected newspaper reports of group localised child sexual exploitation (GLCSE) cases, and completed a comprehensive review of the literature, including the Independent Inquiry into Child Exploitation in Rotherham, which found the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage, along with government documents and official case reviews.

Using a widely accepted technique in medical research, they determined the heritage of these defendants.

LATEST MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS

• Shock details of Labour 'death tax' on pensions laid bare - how much inheritance you stand to lose
• Reform makes history by surpassing Tories in ‘key' polling - party set to take EIGHT seats in London
• How means-testing pensions could impact YOU as Labour eyes Australian model shake-up

Second, using census data for 404 local authorities, the researchers analysed the relationship between GLCSE prosecutions and the religion and heritage of each local population.

What did they determine? Their data found out of the 498 defendants in 73 prosecutions between 1997 and 2017, 413 of them were Muslim.

As almost all Pakistanis are Muslim, the researchers concluded that Pakistani Muslims represent the vast majority of these GLCSE prosecutions.

Why did the bulk of inquiries and reports stop in 2017?

The years leading up to 2017 saw high-profile cases like those in Rochdale and Rotherham, which brought significant media and political attention to group-based child sexual exploitation, resulting in a surge in prosecutions and inquiries.

However, after this time, there was a string of convictions related to child exploitation rings, so the real number is likely higher than around .

In October 2018, 20 men in Huddersfield were convicted in three separate trials for 120 offences, including rape and trafficking, against 15 girls.

These offences took place between 2004 and 2011. The majority of the named offenders were of Pakistani origin, although the ringleader, Amere Singh Dhaliwal, was Sikh.

Convictions continue to be brought against men of Pakistani heritage for historic abuses.

For example, in 2023, five more men were sentenced for offences related to the Huddersfield gang, adding to the total number of convictions.

At the end of last year, seven men were jailed for committing child sex abuse offences against two young girls in Rotherham during the 2000s as part of Operation Stovewood - a major investigation into child sexual abuse and exploitation which took place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1997 and 2013. All men were of Pakistani origin.

Adding up the total convictions and findings from various reports, we suggest upwards of 500 men of Pakistani heritage are currently serving time for grooming gang offences.

Responding to Lowe''s suggestion of deporting them to Pakistan, one X user wrote: "Spot on, Rupert. Colombia’s response shows exactly how effective strong leadership and firm action can be. The UK has no excuse—nations like Pakistan would fall in line if our government had the backbone to apply real pressure."

A second user cast doubt over its feasibility, tweeting: "Our current government is spineless and too busy trying to impress the EU and the WEF."