Lord Ahmed: Former Labour peer denies trying to rape girl

Lord Ahmed was charged with two counts of attempting to rape a girl under 16, indecent assault of a boy under 14 and raping a boy under 16

A former Labour peer tried to rape a young girl when he was a teenager in the 1970s, a court has heard.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of sexual offences against a boy and girl dating back more than 40 years.

The prosecution said the case was about "repeated sexual abuse that took place in Rotherham over a number of years".

Lord Ahmed, who appeared under his real name of Nazir Ahmed, denies the charges.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC told the court Lord Ahmed had attempted to rape the girl in the early 1970s, when the defendant was aged 16 or 17 but she was much younger.

The 64-year-old is also accused of a serious sexual assault and an indecent assault against a boy under 11 around the same time.

On Thursday, the jury was played a recording of a telephone call between the two complainants, made by the woman after she went to the police in 2016.

Mr Little told the jury that the call was prompted by the man contacting her by email, saying "I have evidence against that paedophile".

The prosecutor said Lord Ahmed claims the allegations are a "malicious fiction" but the recording showed they were not "made-up or concocted".

In the recording, the woman said to the man: "What they did to you was utterly wrong and it's time now to seek justice for the little boy who could not protect himself."

Lord Ahmed, who retired from the House of Lords in November 2020, was charged along with his two older brothers, Mohammed Farouq and Mohammed Tariq.

Mr Farouq and Mr Tariq have been deemed unfit to stand trial.

The jury has not been asked to determine whether the brothers are guilty of indecently assaulting the same boy, just whether they did the acts alleged.

The trial continues.