Lord Nazir Ahmed stated that he would simply be "retiring"
Lord Nazir Ahmed has resigned from the House of Lords after a report stated that he exploited a vulnerable woman.
He quit as the House made its first-ever recommendation for the expulsion of a peer.
Lord Ahmed was made a life peer in 1998, however, the House said he quit after reading the contents of its conduct committee report.
Published on November 17, 2020, it found he breached the code of conduct “by failing to act on his personal honour”.
It relates to an investigation centred on Lord Ahmed’s contact with a woman seeking his help in making a complaint to the Metropolitan Police over a faith healer she believed was exploiting men and women financially and sexually.
It was alleged that Lord Ahmed took the woman for dinner and had sex on numerous occasions.
Following the revelation, Lord Nazir Ahmed stated that he would simply be “retiring” from the Lords.
In a statement issued through his lawyers, the Rotheram-based peer said he would launch a challenge against the report, the full contents of which cannot be published for legal reasons.
He said: “I am extremely disappointed by the report of the conduct committee which is based on a flawed and unfair investigation process.
“I have always said, and maintain, that the allegations contained in the report are not true.
“Given this, I am now going to continue pursuing my appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to remedy this injustice.”
Lord Ahmed appealed against the findings and the severity of the sanction.
However, the conduct committee, which is chaired by former Supreme Court justice Lord Mance, dismissed the appeal and recommended his expulsion.
The report will go to the House of approval on November 19, 2020.
Lord Ahmed joined the Labour Party as a teenager and was created a life peer on the recommendation of Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998.
In 2008, Lord Ahmed appeared in court on a charge of dangerous driving after a man was killed. Ahmed admitted sending and receiving five text messages while driving two minutes before the crash.
In February 2009, Lord Ahmed was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison but a month later, he was freed by the Court of Appeal.
Lord Ahmed resigned from the Labour Party in 2013 after he was suspended for blaming a Jewish conspiracy for his driving conviction.