The trial of former Labour peer Nazir Ahmed on sex abuse allegations has been halted after a judge accused prosecutors of “sabotaging” proceedings by failing to disclose evidence to the defence.
The trial of Ahmed, 63, formerly Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, at Sheffield Crown Court was stopped on February 22 although reporting restrictions mean the news has only come out now.
Mr Ahmed went on trial in February accused of two counts of attempting to rape a girl under 16, indecent assault of a boy under 14 and raping a boy under 16. The offences, which he denied, were said to date from the 1970s when he was a teenager.
But Judge Jeremy Richardson QC ruled that all proceedings against Mr Ahmed should stop due to prosecution errors.
Ahmed’s defence team had argued that the trial must be stopped because the prosecution had failed to disclose key evidence to him at the right time, did not carry out a proper investigation, and allowed evidence to be lost and contaminated by the claimants/accusers.
Judge Richardson said he was “shocked and appalled” by prosecutors’ disclosure of evidence after he found the defence was still being supplied with new information during trial.
He said this was despite the allegations dating back almost 50 years, hearings being postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the allegations being made five years ago.
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“This disgraceful situation has sabotaged this trial and caused it to abort. I do not use this adjective lightly,” he said.
Judge Richardson also said he was “extremely concerned” about apparent failures by the police to follow up reasonable lines of inquiry, saying the case had been handled “as if we’re in a different era.”
He said the “calamity” had gone from “bad to worse” and he had come to the conclusion that “enough was enough.”
However, Judge Richardson said that this was not a “not guilty” verdict and that the complainants “may feel cheated.”
Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service said it would appeal against the decision halt the trial.
Ahmed was on trial along with his two brothers – Mohammed Farouq and Mohammed Tariq – in relation to charges of a sexual nature that allegedly took place over 50 years ago.
After the trial was halted he said he would be seeking legal advice over malicious prosecution.
Mr Ahmed resigned from the House of Lords in November 2020 after a conduct committee report found he had breached its code. It said he had sexually assaulted a member of the public who was seeking his help in making a complaint to police over a faith healer she believed was exploiting people.
If found he had “failed to act on his personal honour, as evidenced by his dishonesty and lack of integrity.”
In a statement Mr Ahmed disputed the findings and said he would appeal.
