Lord Ahmed: Former Rotherham peer found guilty of rape attempt of young girl and sexual assault against boy under 11 in the 1970s

Former peer Nazir Ahmed has been found guilty of attempting to rape a young girl when he was a teenager in the 1970s.

Ahmed, 64, who was formerly Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, was found guilty on Wednesday of sexual offences against a boy and a girl dating back more than 40 years.

A woman told a jury at Sheffield Crown Court that Ahmed attempted to rape her in the early 1970s, when the defendant was about 16 or 17 years old but she was much younger.

The former politician was also found guilty of a serious sexual assault against a boy under 11, also in the early 1970s.

The jury was played a recording of a telephone call between the two complainants, made by the woman after she went to the police in 2016.

Tom Little QC, prosecuting, told the jury that the call was prompted by the man contacting the woman by email saying: “I have evidence against that paedophile.”

Ahmed, who denied all the charges, was found guilty on Wednesday of two counts of attempted rape and one of buggery.

The former Labour peer 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.

Ahmed was charged along with his two older brothers, Mohammed Farouq, 71, and Mohammed Tariq, 65, but both these men were deemed unfit to stand trial.

Farouq and Tariq faced charges of indecent assault in relation to the same boy that Ahmed abused and, also on Wednesday, the jury found that they did the acts alleged.

The judge, Mr Justice Lavender, will determine on Wednesday afternoon when Ahmed will be sentenced.