A SOUTH Yorkshire peer today admitted sending and receiving text messages on his mobile phone while driving - just minutes before he hit and killed a man whose car had broken down on the motorway.
Lord Nazir Ahmed, from Rotherham, who was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998 and became the first Muslim peer of modern times, struck 20-year-old Martyn Gombar on Christmas Day last year near the Thorpe Hesley turn-off the M1 in South Yorkshire.
The 51-year-old, of East Bawtry Road, Rotherham, today admitted dangerous driving - by sending and receiving five text messages as he drove along a 17 mile stretch of the M1 before the smash.
Records show he last used his phone to send a text message two minutes before dialling 999 to report the crash.
The Crown Prosecution Service and Lord Ahmed's solicitor, Steve Smith, both stressed that there had been a thorough investigation into the death smash which found Lord Ahmed had not been using his phone at the point of impact and his driving was not to blame for the tragedy.
Mr Gombar, originally from Slovakia but living in Leigh, Greater Manchester, had lost control of his Audi while travelling southbound on the M1, at Junction 35.
His car smashed into the central reservation barrier and ending up stranded in the outside lane facing on-coming traffic.
He and his passenger managed to get out and onto the hard shoulder, but when Mr Gombar went back to his car to get his mobile phone he was struck by Lord Ahmed's Jaguar.
Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard there were no lights on the stretch of motorway and one motorist had already clipped Mr Gombar's vehicle. Another ended up hitting the central reservation barrier after swerving to avoid the car.
David Scutt, prosecuting, said there had been a "long and thorough" investigation into the circumstances surrounding the smash and there was no evidence to suggest Lord Ahmed was "using or distracted by his mobile phone" at the time of the collision.
The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports until December 22 when Lord Ahmed will discover if he is to be jailed.
District judge Mark Hadfield said he wanted "all sentencing options left open".
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