A MAN accused of raping a teenage girl in the cellar of his clothing shop has told a court he never even went down to the basement.
Prosecutors claim two vulnerable girls, from the age of 13, were treated as "sex slaves" by a group of men in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006. The girls were allegedly given drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.
Seven men are currently on trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court facing charges of sexual exploitation.
Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Mohammed Zahid, 64, are accused of repeatedly raping one of the girls on a dirty mattress in what prosecutors described as the "grim, cold, dark" basement of Ahmed's former shop in Rochdale town centre.
Taking the stand, Ahmed strongly denied the allegations, claiming he never used the basement because it was filled with rubbish left by the previous shop owner.
"When I opened the door, because of the presence of so much rubbish and the smell from the damp, I would quickly close the door again. It was extremely bad," he told the court.
Ahmed also stated he had never seen a mattress in the shop.
The defendant admitted that one of the teenagers, referred to in court as Girl B, had visited his shop previously with Rochdale Market stallholders Zahid and Kasir Bashir, who would sometimes mind his premises when he collected supplies.
Ahmed told jurors that Girl B once came to his shop alone asking for money, saying: "She said that she needed £20. She said had problems with gas and electricity bills. I gave it to her."
He claimed that when she returned weeks later asking for more money and he refused, she became angry. "When I refused she swore at me a lot. Too much. She said, 'You are a dog'. I pushed her out of the shop," Ahmed testified.
The prosecution also alleged that Ahmed raped Girl B at a house in Chadderton. He denies all charges of rape and gross indecency.
The other defendants in the case also denied various sexual offences. They are Mohammed Zahid, of Crumpsall; Kasir Bashir, of Oldham; Naheem Akram, 48; Mohammed Shahzad, 44; Roheez Khan, 39, and Nisar Hussain, 41, all from Rochdale.
An eighth defendant, Arfan Khan, 41, was cleared last month when the prosecution offered no evidence against him. He had been charged with rape, conspiracy to commit indecency with a child and conspiracy to cause a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
The trial continues.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.