VIDEO: Lord Ahmed enters no plea at court hearing over 1970s sex crime charges

The Labour lord (pictured) is charged with three sexual offences against a boy and a girl aged under 13.

ROTHERHAM peer Lord Nazir Ahmed has appeared in court alongside his two brothers accused of sexual offences dating back to the 1970s.

The lord (pictured) is charged with three sexual offences against a boy and a girl aged under 13.

Ahmed (61), of East Bawtry Road, Rotherham, appeared before magistrates this morning alongside Mohammed Farouq (68), of Worrygoose Lane, Rotherham, and Mohammed Tariq (63), of Gerard Road, Rotherham.

During the hearing at Sheffield Magistrates' Court, the men only spoke to confirm their names, addresses and date of births.

Ahmed is charged with two counts of attempting to rape a girl aged under 13 between 1973 and 1974, when he would have been aged 16 or 17.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting a boy aged under 13 between 1971 and 1972, when he would have been aged 14 or 15.

He did not enter any pleas.

Farouq faces four counts of indecent assault on a boy aged under 13 between 1968 and 1972, while Tariq is charged with two counts of indecent assault on a boy aged under 13 between 1970 and 1972.

They both entered not guilty pleas to all charges.

The case was sent to Sheffield Crown Court, where the men will next appear on April 16. All three defendants given unconditional bail.

Before the hearing, Ahmed’s solicitor, Mr Haroon Shah, briefly addressed reporters and photographers gathered outside the court.

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“He denies the allegations and will be doing everything he can in order to prove his innocence,” said Mr Shah, declining to comment further as court proceedings had begun.

Lord Ahmed, who is one of Britain's first Muslim peers, sat as a Labour councillor in Rotherham between 1990 and 2000 and was chairman of the party’s South Yorkshire branch between 1993-2000, before resigning from the party in 2013.