Former politician fails in bid to overturn child sex abuse convictions

Three appeal judges dismissed an appeal bid by Lord Nazir Ahmed, 66, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London.

Three appeal judges dismissed an appeal attempt by Lord Nazir Ahmed, 66, on Tuesday (PA) (PA Archive)

A former politician has failed in a bid to overturn child sex abuse convictions.

Three appeal judges dismissed an appeal attempt by Lord Nazir Ahmed, 66, on Tuesday.

Lord Justice William Davis, Mr Justice Jacobs and Judge Paul Sloan concluded, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London, that Ahmed did not have arguable grounds for staging a full appeal.

They said his victims cannot be identified in media reports.

Ahmed was convicted in January 2022 of sexually abusing two children.

Prosecutors said he abused the children when a teenager in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in the early 1970s.

Ahmed pleaded not guilty.

A judge handed him a jail term of five years and six months after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court saw him found guilty.

Earlier this year, three appeal judges cut that term to two years and six months after concluding trial judge Mr Justice Lavender erred when passing sentence.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, Lord Justice Holroyde and Lord Justice William Davis reduced Ahmed’s sentence in March after a Court of Appeal hearing in London..

They considered legal issues relating to the “correct approach” to sentencing an adult for an offence committed when they were a child and examined a number of cases, including the Ahmed case, concerning sexual offending.

Ahmed, who was convicted of two counts of attempted rape and one of buggery, has now left prison and was in court for Tuesday’s appeal hearing.

A woman had told jurors Ahmed tried to rape her in the early 1970s, when he was about 16 or 17 but she was much younger.

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

The UK Parliament website says Ahmed has “retired” from the House of Lords.

It says he was a member of the Lords between August 1998 and November 2020.

The website says he was a Labour peer between 1998 and 2012 and between June 2012 and May 2013.

At other times he was “not affiliated”, it says.

After Tuesday’s appeal hearing, Ahmed told a PA news agency reporter he did not want to comment.

Lawyers representing Ahmed on Tuesday asked appeal judges for permission to stage a full appeal.

Imran Khan KC, who led Ahmed’s legal team, outlined a number of concerns and argued that the convictions were not safe.

He raised concerns about the strength of evidence relating to one charge, jurors being affected by publicity, evidence relating to entries in a victim’s diary, a prosecuting barrister’s comment on a witness’s evidence and a concern about jurors discussing the case during a break in the trial.

Appeal judges concluded that Ahmed did not have arguable grounds and refused to give him permission to stage a full appeal.