A former Labour peer has been found guilty of trying to rape a girl when he was a teenager.
Nazir Ahmed, formerly Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, was also convicted of a serious sexual assault against a boy under 11.
The ‘repeated sexual abuse’ took place in Rotherham over several years in the 1970s, jurors at Sheffield Crown Court were told.
Ahmed attempted to rape the girl when he was 16 or 17 and she was much younger, the court heard.
Ahmed had denied the charges, claiming the allegations were a ‘malicious fiction’.
But a recording of a phone call between the two victims – made by the woman after she went to the police in 2016 – showed they were not ‘made-up or concocted’.
The prosecution said the call came after the male victim emailed the woman, saying: ‘I have evidence against that paedophile.’
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The former politician 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.
Ahmed was charged along with his two older brothers, Mohammed Farouq, 71, and Mohammed Tariq, 65, but they were deemed unfit to stand trial.
Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division, said: ‘The jury has clearly decided that no matter the delay between the offences and the trial, and the defences raised, they could be sure that the accounts of the victims were credible and true.
‘One of these defendants held a position of power, influence and responsibility for some time in the House of Lords but this case clearly illustrates that where there is sufficient evidence, even in challenging cases, the CPS will bring a prosecution, put evidence before a jury and see rightful convictions.’
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