Rotherham peer suspended over new controversy

The party launched an investigation aftert the Muslim peer allegedly told an Urdu-language TV channel in Pakistan that the judge who jailed him for dangerous driving in 2007 had sentenced him to prisin because of pressure on the courts from Jews “who own newspapers and TV channels”.

He allegedly claimed that his imprisonment was related to Jewish disapproval of his support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Lord Ahmed served 16 days of 12-week prison sentence for after sending and receiving text messages minutes before his car crashed into a stationary vehicle on the M1 near Sheffield on Christmas Day 2007.

Martyn Gombar, the 28-year-old Slovakian, was killed in the crash..

A Labour spokesman said: “The Labour party deplores and does not tolerate any sort of anti-semitism.

“Following reports in the Times we are suspending Lord Ahmed pending an investigation.”

It comes after Lord Ahmed was suspended from the Labour party for three months last year over reports that he offered a $10 million “bounty” for the capture of US President Barack Obama and his predecessor, George Bush.

He denied making the comments and was later reinstated.

When approached by the Advertiser in relation to this week’s reports, Lord Ahmed declined to comment.

He told the Times that he had “no recollection” of the Pakistani TV interview, adding: “I’ve done a lot of interviews. If you're saying that you hav 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.”