UK peer Nazir Ahmed has left the House of Lords after the conduct committee of the House recommended his expulsion from the elite chamber after inquiries concluded that he had breached the House's code of conduct.
Nazir Ahmed, who originally hailed from the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, worked for the UK's Labour Party for more than three decades, before being expelled from it in 2013.
The controversial peer's conduct was under scrutiny after a woman accused him of sexually exploiting her for months before quitting the relationship.
The House's Commissioner of Standards found that Ahmed, 63, abused his position to exploit the woman sexually. He offered to use his position to help a member of the public but went on to sexually assault the complainant, said the report.
Move Comes Ahead of Expulsion
"Lord Ahmed resigned from the House of Lords on November 14 but the report, which was agreed by the committee and seen by Lord Ahmed before that date, recommends that he should have been expelled," the committee said.
The case pertains to the complaint by Tahira Zaman that Ahmed emotionally and sexually exploited her in 2017 after she approached him to help her in a case relating to a faith healer. The MP exploited her vulnerable position and sexually abused her.
Shady Past
The Pakistani origin politician with a shady past was controversially named a member of the UK House of Lords by Prime Minister Tony Blair. But Blair's confidant later turned against him. Ahmed criticized the Blair government's decision to give knighthood to Indian author Salman Rushdie.
In 2019, Ahmed and two of his brothers were charged with attempted rape of two minors. The victims of the peer were a girl and a boy aged under 13 at the time of the assault. The UK's Crown Prosecution Service said Ahmed was indecently assaulted the boy in 1971-72, while he attempted to rape the minor girl in 1973-74. He was charged alongside brothers Mohamed Farouq and Mohammed Tariq.
"Nazir Ahmed - serious sexual assault against a boy under the age of 11 and the indecent assault of the same boy; two counts of attempting to rape a girl who was under the age of 16. All charges relate to dates between 1971 and 1974," the charges against him read.
Convicted and Jailed in 2009
Ahmed was convicted and jailed in 2009 after he crashed his Jaguar into a stationery car and killed its driver. Investigations revealed that Ahmed was sending text messages on his phone when the accident happened. However, the peer blamed Jews for his conviction. The Labour Party suspended him over the anti-Jewish comment, and he later quit the party in 2013.
Offers Bounty on Obama's Head
When US President Barack Obama announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Ahmed made a counter offer $10 million pounds for Obama's head. "If the US can announce a reward of 10 million dollars for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of 10 million pounds on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush," he said in a speech made in Pakistan.
'Death to Modi'
In another controversial and insensitive comment, Ahmed threatened Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 'death'. "Hey Narendra Modi is next," he said as he described how a string of leaders in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had died in close succession. "Claims of sorcery, jadoo, magic, witchcraft, on BJP by opposition. (Arun) Jaitley, (Babulal) Gaur, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shushma Swaraj, (former Prime Minister) Atal (Bihari) Vajpayee, Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa...have all died in the last one year. Hey Narendra Modi is next," he tweeted.
