Labour peer Lord Ahmed suspended over claims he blamed imprisonment on 'Jewish conspiracy'
Labour has suspended a peer who is alleged to have blamed a Jewish conspiracy for the prison sentence he received following a fatal motorway crash.
Lord Ahmed, a Labour life peer, is alleged to have told a TV station in Pakistan that he was imprisoned in 2009 because of pressure on the courts from Jews “who own newspapers and TV channels".
Labour immediately suspended the peer “pending an investigation” and Ed Miliband, the party’s leader, described Lord Ahmed’s reported comments as “disgraceful”.
He was jailed for dangerous driving after Martyn Gombar, a 28-year-old Slovakian was killed on Christmas Day in 2007 after his stationary car was hit by Lord Ahmed’s Jaguar.
Lord Ahmed served 16 days in jail after it was disclosed that he had been sending and receiving text messages minutes before the crash.
Lord Ahmed, who in 1998 became the first Muslim life peer, is said by The Times to have claimed that the conspiracy was a result of his support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
The peer is alleged to have made the comments during a TV interview in April.
In the TV broadcast it is alleged Lord Ahmed said of his jail sentence: “My case became more critical because I went to Gaza to support Palestinians. My Jewish friends who own newspapers and TV channels opposed this.”
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader said: "I think that the comments reported by Lord Ahmed are disgraceful comments.
"There's no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, and frankly anybody who makes those kinds of comments cannot be either a Labour lord or a Labour member of Parliament."
A Labour spokesman said the party will be urgently seeking to “clarify” the peer’s alleged remarks.
Jon Benjamin, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said that the Labour party must expel Lord Ahmed if the allegations are found to be true.
“We are appalled by Lord Ahmed's alleged comments which recall the worst Jewish conspiracy theories,” Mr Benjamin said.
“We note that Lord Ahmed has now been suspended from the Labour Party pending a full investigation. If he is found to have indeed made the reported comments, he should be expelled from the Labour Party, as such views should have no space in responsible political discourse.”
Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP for Harlow, said: “These are serious allegations. I’m glad the Labour Party is doing an investigation to see if they are true or not. This kind of language, if he used it, is not to be tolerated.”
Lord Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, became Baron Ahmed of Rotherham at the age of 40.
In 2007 he was highly critical of the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, claiming the author had "blood on his hands."
Lord Ahmed was last year suspended from the Labour Party amid reports that he offered a £10 million bounty for the capture of President Barack Obama and his predecessor President George W Bush.
The peer denied having made the comments, published in a Pakistani newspaper, and was reinstated after an investigation by Labour Lords Chief Whip Lord Bassam.
Lord Ahmed was not available for comment.
However, he told The Times he had “no recollection” of the TV interview.
“I’ve done a lot of interviews,” he reportedly said. “If you’re saying that you have seen this footage then it may be so but I need to see the footage and I need to consult with my solicitors before I make any comments in relation to this.”
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