Lord Ahmed steps down from parliament after alleged sexual misconduct

A report published by the UK House of Lords reveals that a conduct committee recommended Lord Nazir Ahmed to be expelled after an inquiry into sexual misconduct.

Ahmed tweeted that he has stepped down from his role in the upper house after 21 years of service and the committee reports came a day after.

Took my oath today in the @UKHouseofLords for the new Parliamentary session. After 21 years of service, I am proud to be the longest serving muslim member in the house. pic.twitter.com/Pq44g48GmV

— Lord Nazir Ahmed (@nazir_lord) December 17, 2019

Media sources revealed that Lord Ahmed retired from parliament after seeing a conduct report recommending him to be expelled for sexually exploiting a vulnerable woman.

According to the conduct committee, the accused emotionally and sexually exploited Tahira Zaman. She had come to him for help in 2017.

The report on the UK parliament website read, “… Lord Ahmed breached the Code of Conduct by failing to act on his personal honour in the discharge of his parliamentary activities by agreeing to use his position as a member of the House to help a member of the public but then; sexually assaulting the complainant, lying to the complainant about his intentions to help her with a complaint to the Metropolitan Police regarding exploitation by a faith healer, exploiting the complainant emotionally and sexually despite knowing she was vulnerable.”

The accused rejected the allegations against him and vowed to appeal against the decision. Meanwhile the victim said she was “elated and relieved” at the report’s findings.

The 43-year-old Tahira had approached Lord Ahmed three years ago hoping he would help her start a police investigation. The inquiry was against a Muslim spiritual healer who she believed was exploiting women.

Following their meeting, they both had a consensual sexual relationship. However, she said: “I was looking for help and he took advantage of me. He abused his power.”

The Commissioner for Standards’ investigation, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, found that Lord Ahmed had sexually assaulted her.

She added, “I find that it is more likely than not that Ms Zaman went to Lord Ahmed’s house at his invitation to discuss the offer made by the police to meet her.

“However, he had no intention of forwarding her concerns to the police and his use of the offer of a meeting made in the letter from the police to lure Ms Zaman to his house was dishonest.”

Zaman first complained to the House of Lords about Lord Ahmed’s behaviour in January 2018.

In a statement, Lord Ahmed told sources, “I completely deny the allegation that I have exploited my position to pursue an inappropriate relationship with any member of the public (vulnerable or otherwise) or that I have acted inappropriately in the presence of women either in my personal or professional capacity.”

Also Read

Brexit-UK finally leaves European Union

The UK has finally separated from the European Union after 47 years....