Mubarek Ali: People of Telford need answers - MP

Lucy Allan MP will meet with David Lidington MP on September 6 to discuss the early release of CSE exploitation offender Mubarek Ali and what action can be taken.

Ali was one of the ringleaders of a child grooming gang, snared under West Mercia Police's Operation Chalice.

Lucy will be raising the issue of the 2015 Criminal Justice and Courts Act which brought in measures to ensure that all child rapists and terrorists serving custodial sentences would only be released before the end of their prison term if the independent parole board decides they no longer represent a risk to the public.

The MP will be asking the Secretary of State how the Act could be amended to ensure those currently serving sentences for such serious offences are not eligible for early release.

She said: “Ending the early release of child rapists was was clearly the intention of the legislation when it was introduced in 2015.

“It was not passed to apply in the future it was drafted to tackle the issue as soon as the Act came into force. It is clearly not working as intended.

“I will be seeking answers from the Justice Secretary as to why this legislation has not been implemented in this case.

"Many of the victims in Telford want and need answers as does the whole community of Telford. As the MP, I want to make sure that all my residents feel safe and that justice is served.”

It comes after it was released that Mubarek Ali was not seen by a parole board ahead of the decision to release him in November.

Ali's release after five years has been triggered automatically as, with remand, he is technically half way through the custodial element of his 22 year sentence.

Ali, 34, of Regent Street Wellington, was given a sentence of 22 years – 14 years' immediate custody and eight years on licence for seven offences including child prostitution and trafficking.

Because his actual jail term was only 14 years of that total sentence, and because he served time in custody on remand before his sentence, his November release is automatic at the halfway point of his sentence.

But if he commits any offences while on licence, he is liable to be recalled to prison for the full 22 years.

Councillors in Wellington say they are also keen to see more done to protect the victims of the grooming gang, many of whom are still living in Telford, and who say they have not been contacted about the release or yet had any say in the terms of his license.