Rotherham MP calls for Lord Ahmed to be stripped of title over child sexual abuse

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham should be stripped of his title following his conviction for sexually abusing two children, a Conservative MP has said.
By Robert Cumber
Published 6th Jan 2022, 21:45 BST
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Nazir Ahmed was found guilty on Wednesday at Sheffield Crown Court of attempting to rape a young girl when he was a teenager in the 1970s.

The 64-year-old was also found guilty of a serious sexual assault against a boy under 11, also in the early 1970s, and he is due to be sentenced on February 4.

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Lord Ahmed should be stripped off his title, says a Rotherham MP, after being found guilty of sexually abusing children (Photo: Danny Lawson/ PA)Lord Ahmed should be stripped off his title, says a Rotherham MP, after being found guilty of sexually abusing children (Photo: Danny Lawson/ PA)
Lord Ahmed should be stripped off his title, says a Rotherham MP, after being found guilty of sexually abusing children (Photo: Danny Lawson/ PA)

Ahmed was made a life peer in 1998 on the recommendation of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. He sat in the House of Lords until he resigned in 2020 but has retained his title.

Alexander Stafford, MP for Rother Valley, has started a petition for him to be stripped of his title, saying this should happen automatically in the case of child abusers.

He said: “This vile monster should not hold such an illustrious title and, therefore, I am writing to the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab calling for the removal of his title.”

Mr Stafford told BBC Radio Sheffield: “Anyone, frankly, who commits any abuse of children should automatically lose their title.

“There should be a mechanism in place to do that.

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“I think there should be an independent commission looking at how peers and other honours are appointed, and how that comes forward. And have a consensual agreement to get to the best place.”

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.

But many were surprised to discover that Lord Ahmed’s title is separate from his membership of the house.

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

The Labour MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion, told the BBC it ‘made a mockery of the peerage system’ if Ahmed was allowed to keep his title.

Ms Champion said: “It’s going to take a lot to make it happen and that’s a fault with our system.”