Exclusive:Labour cut ties with 'shameful' on-the-run paedophile after he ran in Sheffield City Council election
“The offences committed by Amar Ilyas and his brothers are truly harrowing”
The local Labour group have said they suspended a council candidate as soon as they were made aware of “harrowing” child sex crimes he was responsible for.
On-the-run Amar Ilyas was convicted of 20 historic sex offences that took place between 2004 and 2007, and was sentenced in his absence to 27 years’ custody at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday (June 22).
It is understood that he fled to Pakistan in 2025 and has not been caught by authorities since.
However, it has since been revealed that the 41-year-old who was known as “killer” by his victims had attempted a career in politics after committing his horrifying crimes, and ran as a council candidate for the Labour party in the 2016 local election.
Ilyas stood for the party in the city ward, however lost out, with the Greens winning two of the ward’s seats and Labour taking the third.
GB News originally reported that Ilyas had run for council after the sentencing earlier this week, and now Labour have confirmed to The Star that he is no longer a party member.
They said that he was suspended in 2020, when the party was first made aware of his crimes.
A spokesperson for Sheffield Labour told The Star: "The offences committed by Amar Ilyas and his brothers are truly harrowing, and it is shameful that he has fled the country in cowardice to avoid retribution for his crimes.
"The Labour Party was first made aware of Ilyas' crimes in 2020 and acted swiftly to suspend him from the party."
Ilyas’ two brothers, Kamran Ilyas, 38, and Kamar Ilyas, 39, have also been found guilty of a catalogue of sex offences
Operation Stovewood uncovered that the trio had terrorised five teenagers from Sheffield and Rotherham over the course of three years.
Amar Ilyas was also convicted of a fireams offence after he showed a handgun kept in his car to one of his victims.
National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Alan Hastings said: “Amar, Kamar and Kamran Ilyas remorselessly terrorised vulnerable girls from Rotherham and Sheffield.
“Amar Ilyas’ victims were terrified of him and he mercilessly played on their fear to get them alone, sexually abuse them and ensure their silence afterwards.
“Our investigation found Amar Ilyas targeted his victims opportunistically or groomed them extensively. In one case Amar Ilyas subjected a child to three years of relentless torment and rape. Her suffering was compounded by the sexual abuse his brothers also committed against her.”