Lord Nazir Ahmed should be stripped of title after sex assaults, says victim

The disgraced peer, who quit the House of Lords but retains the title Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, was found guilty in January of a serious sexual assault against a boy and the attempted rape of a young girl in the 1970s.

On Friday he was jailed for five years and six months at Sheffield Crown Court. Only an Act of Parliament can remove Ahmed’s title, but none currently exists.

“That title is bestowed upon people that have got some honour, some dignity, and he’s got none of that,” the male victim told the BBC’s Newsnight.

The Government said Ahmed, 64, had resigned from the Lords and was “no longer a member of the legislature”.

During his trial, jurors heard Ahmed carried out the sexual assaults as a teenager in Rotherham.

The male victim, known as Mr B to protect his anonymity, said the abuse had started when he was a young child and he had spent much of his life trying “to bury it”.

“You try to lead a normal life, but you can never lead a normal life,” he said.

Former Labour member Ahmed resigned from the House of Lords in November 2020 after reading the contents of a conduct committee report which found he sexually assaulted a vulnerable woman who sought his help.

The report made him the first peer to be recommended for expulsion but he resigned before this could be implemented.

He stepped down from the Labour Party in 2013.

Many were surprised to discover Ahmed’s title is separate from his membership of the House.

The House of Lords confirmed that, as the title is created by letters patent from the Queen, it has no power to remove it and legislation would therefore be needed to strip Ahmed of it.

“I’m demanding the Government take that peerage away from him,” said Mr B.

“He’s a convicted paedophile and there’s no justice in that.”

The call is being supported by crossbench peer Lord Carlile, the charity Muslim Women’s Network UK and Conservative Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford.

Lord Carlile said it was “offensive” and “illogical” that Ahmed could retain his title and that the system needed updating to retain the House of Lords’ credibility.

“We need to be able to expel from their titles as well as from the House, those who have been convicted of serious criminal offences,” he said.

The charity Muslim Women’s Network UK has written to Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab calling for action.

Co-chair Shaista Gohir said: “Once he’s completed his sentence, he could go up and down the country, speak at events, use that title to influence.

“What kind of message does that send to victims that somebody that’s committed such an appalling crime can continue to use that privilege and that title?”

In response to a question about Ahmed, a spokesperson said the Government was “committed to helping the police and local agencies prevent and disrupt this type of offending” through the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.

“Nazir Ahmed resigned from the House of Lords in November 2020 and is no longer a member of the legislature,” they added.