The family of a Blackpool schoolgirl raped by an Iraqi asylum seeker have reacted with fury to the news her attacker could stay in Britain

Blackpool Today:

Awat Ahmed was jailed for a minimum of five years in February for his part in the horrific gang rape of the 15-year-old in May last year.

Judge Andrew Blake recommended that once Ahmed's sentence is up, he should be deported.

But in a fresh asylum scandal to hit the Government, claims by a Home Office insider suggested 60 per cent of foreign criminals will not be sent back to their homelands because countries, such as Iraq, are considered "too dangerous".

The outraged father of the Blackpool rape victim, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, said: "It beggars belief.

"My wife and I made a promise to our daughter following the judge's comments that this man would never walk the streets in this country again.

"Now I'm sorry to say we are not so sure. There is no guarantee that this man will not be released back into this country.

"We are not against genuine asylum seekers, but when people come into this country and they have criminal convictions or they are wanted in their home country for criminal offences then they should not be allowed on to the streets in this country until their circumstances have been thoroughly investigated.

"If this had been the case with Ahmed then my daughter's life and the lives of our family would not have been ruined in the way they have been."

He added: "Dramatic changes are going to have to be made to prevent these criminals being released and then disappearing and those changes are going to have to be made sooner rather than later."

Former Home Office Minister and current Fylde MP Michael Jack said this would be the first test for new Home Secretary John Reid. Mr Jack said: "The policy is similar to the way we operate with extradition arrangements. Those sent from this country have to have a reasonable chance of survival or fair trial in their homeland.

"If they do not, and we are sending people back who will be killed straight away, the British people would not stand for it.

"The UK has a proud record of making certain people living in fear are given refugee status.

"But, whatever the number of those who are allowed to remain, those who can go should do so, full stop.

"The first test for the new Home Secretary will be to restore public confidence in the current system and get it working before looking to future ways to deal with this mess."

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We have deported around 3,000 people in 2004/05 out of 5,500 that were put forward for consideration.

"When the Home Office considers deportation we look at a number of factors concerning both the person and the eventual destination and have a policy not to deport to active war zones.

"However, there is no country we have a total block on, other than Zimbabwe because of the current political climate."

The family of a schoolgirl brutally gang raped broke their silence and called for an end to Britain's immigration shambles

A twice-failed Iraqi asylum seeker has been jailed for his part in the gang rape of a British schoolgirl