MP launches petition calling for convicted sex offender Nazir Ahmed to be stripped of peerage

Alexander Stafford (pictured), Conservative MP for Rother Valley, is calling for Ahmed to be stripped of the title following the former peer’s conviction for the sexual abuse of two children.

Ahmed, a former Labour councillor in Rotherham, received his life peerage in August 1998 and served in the House of Lords until his resignation in November 2020.

He quit Parliament after an investigation recommended he be expelled for sexually exploiting a vulnerable woman.

The 64-year-old was found guilty yesterday at Sheffield Crown Court of sexually assaulting a boy between 1971 and 1972 and attempting to rape a girl between 1973 and 1974.

Ahmed, of East Bawtry Road, was convicted of buggery and two counts of attempted rape. 

Mr Stafford said that as an MP he had been a strong voice for survivors of child sexual exploitation, calling for tougher sentences for perpetrators, better support for victims and a specific commissioner for child criminal and sexual exploitation.

He said: “The focus now needs to be on the victims of this sick abuser and their decades-long fight for justice.

“I thank them sincerely and wholeheartedly for their bravery and persistence and I welcome this verdict.

“But there is no getting away from the fact that this paedophile is in possession of a peerage and this is absolutely and categorically unacceptable.

“He should be stripped of this immediately. 

“I will be speaking to my colleagues in the Department of Justice to ensure that this individual is not allowed to continue to hold a peerage, which would be an insult to his victims.

“In the mean time, I would encourage everyone who agrees with me to sign my petition calling for the immediate removal of Ahmed’s peerage.”