Lord Ahmed facing prison sentence

Lord Ahmed (pictured), Britain's first Muslim peer, is facing a jail sentence after admitting yesterday that he had sent a text message to a friend while driving his car minutes before he was involved in a crash in which a man was killed last Christmas Day.

Ahmed, 51, a property developer who sits on the Labour benches in the Lords, was at the wheel of his X Type Jaguar when it was involved in a collision with a car that had broken down in the fast lane of the M1. The driver, Martyn Gombar, died instantly while Lord Ahmed, who was in the car with his wife and mother, suffered severe facial injuries and shock.

Prosecution lawyer David Scutt told a Sheffield court: "The defendant used his mobile phone to send and receive a series of text messages while driving on the motorway along a 17-mile stretch before the accident. It was prolonged and deliberate use." However, he conceded that there was no evidence to prove Ahmed's use of a mobile phone caused the accident."

The judge adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports, saying that he would consider all sentencing options.