Britain’s first Muslim peer, Lord Nazir Ahmed, has quit the House of Lords after a report recommended his expulsion.
The House said Lord Ahmed – who was made a life peer in 1998 – resigned after reading the contents of its conduct committee report regarding the alleged exploitation of a vulnerable woman.
Published on Tuesday, it found he breached the code of conduct “by failing to act on his personal honour.”
The House of Lords Conduct Committee concluded Lord Ahmed emotionally exploited British Pakistani Tahira Zaman, who came to him for help in 2017 in connection with a personal issue.
The full contents of the report cannot be revealed for legal reasons, but an investigation centred on Lord Ahmed’s contact with a woman seeking his help in making a complaint to the Metropolitan Police over a faith healer she believed was exploiting men and women financially and sexually.
In a statement issued through his lawyers, the Rotherham-based peer said he would launch a challenge against the report.
He said: “I am extremely disappointed by the report of the conduct committee which is based on a flawed and unfair investigation process. I have always said, and maintain, that the allegations contained in the report are not true. Given this I am now going to continue pursuing my appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to remedy this injustice.”
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Lord Ahmed, 63, a property developer, joined the Labour Party in his teens – but resigned in 2013 after he was suspended by the party. He was created a life peer on the recommendation of Tony Blair in 1998.
The former peer made history by becoming the first ever Muslim peer in Britain’s history. He has been a consistent critic of the Indian government’s policies, particularly with reference to Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
