Lord Ahmed, formerly a Labour peer, has joined the long list of public figures that in recent years have been charged with historical child sex abuse. As providers of UK lie detector tests we are acutely aware of the difficulties survivors have in coming forward, not to mention those who are falsely accused.
Who is Lord Ahmed?
Born on 24 April 1957, Nazir Ahmed moved to the UK from Pakistan with his parents in 1968. The family settled in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Ahmed was 11 years old at the time. When he was 18 he became a member of the Labour Party and in 1998 obtained his peerage. His political career has been largely motivated by issues related to Muslim communities both at home and abroad.
Ahmed has been involved with property development throughout his career but his life has not been without controversy.
Controversial issues
From 2001 onwards Ahmed has been involved in many controversies that attracted media attention including:
December 2001 – Lord Ahmed accused the government of spying on him due to his opposition to foreign policy. He claimed that his phone was bugged and transcripts of his telephone conversations were given to Denis MacShane, a minister working in the Foreign Office. Telephone tapping of Ahmed’s phone was vehemently denied by the government. Despite Ahmed’s threats take legal action, from available information, there is no evidence that any such action was ever taken. Perhaps Lord Ahmed should have asked Denis MacShane to take a lie detector test.
July 2005 – In an interview on NPR (National Public Radio) with Robert Seigel Ahmed referred to the suicide bombers, who were responsible for the London bombings on 7 July 2005, as having an “identity crisis”. He suggested that Imams in British mosques were not communicating the “true message of Islam” in the “language” that young people can understand. He was immediately leapt upon by Christopher Orlet, a columnist working for the American Spectator, who inferred that Lord Ahmed may be confusing an “identity crisis” with “religious psychopathy”. Ahmed conceded “the community leaders and religious leaders, have kept very close contacts with South Asia and the Middle East rather than keeping a good contact with the British society where we live.”
Among other controversies Ahmed has been accused of having conflicts of interest regarding his paid consultancy position with Nestle, specific to sales of baby milk in Pakistan.
Fatal car accident
Perhaps the worst of these was an event in 2009 which would eventually lead to Ahmed’s suspension from the Labour Party in 2013. Involved in a road accident on the M1, he had been sending text messages on his mobile phone when he hit a stationary car. The impact resulted in the death of the driver of the car. In consequence Ahmed was convicted of dangerous driving and received a 3 month prison sentence. He served half the sentence in prison and the remainder on licence. The family of the Slovakian driver, Martyn Gombar who was just 28 years old were not impressed with the leniency of the sentence. A spokesperson for the family said that whilst Ahmed would be out of prison in 6 weeks Mr Gombar’s wife and 2 children were deprived of a husband and father for life.
In 2013 it came to light that Lord Ahmed stated in a Pakistani broadcast that he was being made a scapegoat regarding his dangerous driving conviction. He suggested that the Judge in the case was part of a Jewish conspiracy against him. Ahmed said that the media, including TV and newspapers, were owned by Jews and they had in some way pressurised the court. He was immediately suspended from the Labour Party. He later resigned from it.
However, he didn’t lose his peerage and remains active in the House of Lords.
Historical child sex abuse allegations
Ahmed will appear on 19 March 2019 at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court accused of 3 historical child sex abuse offences. The survivors, one male and one female allege that the offences took place during the 1970s when Ahmed was in his teens. The male was under 13 years old at the time.
Cases such as these involve lengthy and expensive court procedures and when defendants plead “not guilty” are likely to be referred to the Crown Court. Ahmed denies all charges against him.
At Lie Detector Test UK we regularly conduct polygraph examinations for those who are worried that they won’t be believed if they report the abuse. We also provide tests for people who have been falsely accused.
Exploitation of vulnerable women
Shortly before Lord Ahmed was charged with the historical child sex abuse offences, BBC Newsnight featured women who alleged that he pestered them for sex in recompense for help that he had afforded them. One of the women, Tahira Zaman reluctantly entered into a sexual relationship with him which lasted for 2 months. It ended when Ahmed refused to leave his wife. Watch the video below to learn more.
Ahmed also denies the allegations of these women, so perhaps one or all of those involved should take lie detector tests to clear the matter up.
High profile figures and sex abuse
The reluctance of survivors to report sex abuse when the perpetrators are high profile is well known. Looking back on the scale of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal it’s clear that there were many failures spanning local authorities, health and social services, police and the BBC. Nowadays these allegations are taken much more seriously. Lie detector tests play a huge role in inspiring confidence in survivors to report such abuse and move forward with their lives.
If you would like to learn more about how polygraph services can help contact us today for an informal and confidential discussion about your specific circumstances.
