Nazir Ahmed

[[File:Official portrait of Lord Ahmed crop 2.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Nazir Ahmed in 2018.]]{{UKpolitics}}
'''Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed''' {{lived|1957}} is a [[United Kingdom|British]] politician and a former member of the [[Labour Party]] who was a member of the [[House of Lords]]. He's best known for his controversies.

In April 2012, Ahmed reportedly denounced the US government's bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, calling it an insult to all Muslims and stating that "If the US can announce a reward of $10 million for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of 10 million pounds on President [[Obama]] and his predecessor [[George Bush]]".<ref>http://tribune.com.pk/story/364863/sterling-bounty-offered-for-obama-bush/</ref> This resulted in him being temporarily suspended from the Labour Party.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18658233</ref> He denied making these statements,<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17723890</ref> even though the website of the university that was hosting him at the time also quotes him as saying much the same thing in its summary of the event.<ref>http://pu.edu.pk/home/section/seminars/1445</ref>

Ahmed was jailed for 12 weeks in 2009 for dangerous driving in an incident that resulted in a man's death.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4804702/Labour-peer-Lord-Ahmed-jailed-for-motorway-texting.html</ref> In March 2013 it was reported that he blamed his prison sentence on a [[Jewish]] conspiracy,<ref>http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=306382</ref> which resulted in him being suspended for a second time,<ref>http://www.channel4.com/news/lord-ahmed-suspended-over-jewish-conspiracy-comments</ref> and he later resigned from the Labour Party due to the controversy.<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-peer-lord-ahmed-resigns-from-party-over-alleged-antisemitic-comments-8614641.html</ref>

In 2019, Ahmed was charged with attempted rape and indecent assault between 1971 and 1974.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/19/lord-ahmed-appears-in-court-charged-with-child-sexual-offences Lord Ahmed appears in court charged with child sexual offences] The Guardian, March 19, 2019</ref> The victims were a boy and a girl, both under the age of 13. The incidents took place when Ahmed was a teenager, aged 14 to 17. He was found guilty at the 2022 trial and sentenced to five years and six months. The sentence was later reduced to two and a half years on appeal.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/mar/17/peer-nazir-ahmeds-jail-term-for-1970s-sexual-assault-cut-by-three-years Peer Nazir Ahmed’s jail term for 1970s sexual assault cut by three years] The Guardian, March 13, 2023</ref>

He resigned from the House of Lords in 2020 following the result of a Lords Conduct Committee investigation<ref>https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldcond/170/17005.htm</ref> that concluded he had exploited a member of the public who had sought his help to report an exploitive faith healer to the police, instead coercing her into a sexual relationship. In proper governmental fashion, it took a news report on the issue after she was denied an investigation to get the government to actually look into the complaints.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54975932</ref>

Shamefully, although no longer a member of the House of Lords following his resignation, he retains his title as a life peer, which can not be rescinded without an act of parliament.<ref>[https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/peerages-can-they-be-removed/ Peerages: can they be removed?] House of Lords Library, February 10, 2022</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Nazir}}
[[Category:Convicted felons]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Antisemites]]

Categories: Convicted felons, Muslims, British people, Living people, Antisemites