Kemi Badenoch says ‘jail them in Pakistan’ as grooming gang members flee Britain after raping teenage girl

Her comments come after two brothers, Imtiaz and Fayaz Ahmed, absconded to Pakistan during their trial for rape offences committed in Keighley.

"We have a policy to deport all foreign criminals. We're spending lots of money here looking after them - if they can be put in jails in other countries, even better," Badenoch added.

She expressed frustration about countries reluctant to accept deportees, saying: "The real problem we have is, the people we want to deport, who countries like Pakistan don't necessarily want to take, that's a bigger issue."

Badenoch also called for a national inquiry into grooming gangs, stating: "This is an issue that is very personal for me. I have met victims. I am never letting it go."

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The Ahmed brothers were convicted alongside Ibrar Hussain of raping a vulnerable young girl in Keighley during the 1990s when she was in her early teens.

The men were part of a larger group who targeted vulnerable girls, with court documents revealing the victims were plied with drugs and alcohol.

They were passed between numerous men, "virtually all of whom were of Asian heritage", according to case details.

Only Hussain was present for sentencing in January, as the Ahmed brothers had absconded during their trial.

The three offenders have now had their sentences increased after the Solicitor General referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

Lucy Rigby KC MP, who supports the Attorney General, attended the hearing.

"This case involved the shocking and hideous abuse of a vulnerable teenager by these three sexual predators," she said.

"I referred these sentences to Court of Appeal because in my view they were unduly lenient."

Initially, Hussain was sentenced to six-and-a-half years, Imtiaz Ahmed to nine years, and Fayaz Ahmed to seven-and-a-half years at Bradford Crown Court.

Following the Court of Appeal's decision, Hussain and Fayaz Ahmed's sentences were increased to 10 years each.

Imtiaz Ahmed's sentence was hiked to 11 years.

The increases represent a total of eight additional years in prison for the three offenders.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the survivor said that almost 30 years after the abuse, she still suffered flashbacks and the trauma left her unable to trust people.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore criticised the sentences despite the increases.

"I get that the Court of Appeal must act within the existing sentencing guidelines, but in my view ten years in prison is absolutely shocking for men who destroyed the lives of children," he said.