Labour peer jailed for dangerous driving

A Labour peer who was sending texts before crashing into another car and killing a man has been jailed for 12 weeks. Lord Ahmed, 51, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously in the Christmas Day tragedy on the M1 near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, last year. He sent and received a series of five text messages while driving at 60mph in the dark along a 17-mile stretch of the motorway. His elderly mother and his wife were passengers in the car at the time. Shortly afterwards he collided with an Audi which was stationary in the fast lane of the motorway after crashing into the central reservation. Slovakian Martyn Gombar, 28, who was living in Leigh, Lancashire, died. But the judge at Sheffield Crown Court ruled the text messaging had finished before the accident took place and was not connected to the fatal incident. Mr Justice Wilkie said: "After a full and thorough police investigation it's clear the dangerous driving had no causal link to the accident." But the judge went on: "It is of the greatest importance that people realise what a serious offence dangerous driving of this type is." He concluded: "I have come to the conclusion that by reason of the prolonged, deliberate, repeated and highly dangerous driving for which you have pleaded guilty, only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified." After jailing him for 12 weeks, the judge also imposed a one year driving ban and ordered the peer to pay £500 prosecution costs. Lord Ahmed, who has lived in Rotherham since childhood, has undertaken a number of high-profile roles, including negotiating with the president of Sudan to help secure the release of Liverpool teacher Gillian Gibbons.

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ITN | February 25, 2009

Tags:. .slovakian. .wilkie. .causal. .gillian. .rotherham