Lord Ahmed of Rotherham trial live updates as Nazir Ahmed accused of child sex abuse

Former Labour peer Nazir Ahmed will appear at Sheffield Crown Court after being charged with historic child sex offences dating back to the 1970s

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham is due to go on trial today, along with two of his brothers, accused of historic sex offences, including raping a child.

Former Labour peer Nazir Ahmed is 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, all relating to allegations dated from the 1970s.

The 63-year-old's trial is due to begin at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday morning where a jury will be sworn in and the case will be opened by a prosecutor.

Lord Ahmed, of East Bawtry Road, Rotherham, is on trial alongside brothers Mohammed Farouq and Mohammed Tariq who are both accused of indecent assault of a boy under 14.

To get the latest email updates from South Yorkshire Live,click here .

Mr Farouq, 70, of Worry Goose Lane, Rotherham, is charged with four counts while Mr Tariq, 65, of Gerard Road, Rotherham, is charged with two counts.

They deny all the charges.

We will keep you up to date with live updates from court in our dedicated blog which will load below.

14:42Danielle Hoe

Prosecution opening finished - jury will return tomorrow

Mr Little has now finished opening his case and the jury will be sent home to return tomorrow morning.

14:23Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed says allegations are 'wicked lies'

In a later prepared statement Lord Ahmed said: “It seems there is an agenda behind the complaints and I am extremely concerned that whatever I say could be manipulated by the complainant in accordance with that.

"Any account provided that I have committed any such act is not truthful.”

Lord Ahmed said the allegations were “wicked lies”.

Mr Little told jurors: “You will have to decided in this case who the liar is. We say it is Nazir Ahmed.”

14:20Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed questioned again by police in September 2016

Lord Ahmed was questioned by police again in September 2016. He said the allegations were not true.

He said the alleged abuse could not have happened due to the number of people living at the property the abuse is said to have taken place in.

Lord Ahmed is also said to have claimed the abuse against the young girl could not have happened because she would not have been left alone by her parents.

Mr Little said: “But she is not saying she was left alone. She is saying this took place at night.”

14:11Danielle Hoe

Trial has resumed

The jury has returned and the case at Sheffield Crown Court has resumed.

13:04Danielle Hoe

Lunch break

Court has now broken for lunch for the next hour.

The jury will be back in the room at 2pm.

Then the prosecution will move onto another subject.

13:03Danielle Hoe

Male came forward after woman spoke out about Lord Ahmed

In July 2016, the male complainant explained that hearing the woman had complained had prompted him to come forward and report the abuse that had been perpetrated against him not just by Lord Ahmed but also his two brothers Mr Farouq and Mr Tariq.

12:59Danielle Hoe

More on the phone call

Later in the call, the woman said: "I seek justice for what happened to me and now I know what happened to you.

"It takes just one person to break that silence and it helps others to come forward."

"I have waited years, I'm not waiting any more. It's not just for me, it's for you and all the other children who Nazir Ahmed sexually abused and his brothers now," she added.

She assured her fellow complainant the police will take any allegations seriously and would listen to him.

12:52Danielle Hoe

Complainant broke down in tears on the phone

The male broke down in tears on the phone stating that he thought he was the only one, to which she replied “they never stop”.

She then said to him: “You need to put the blame squarely and firmly where it belongs.”

She also asked him of Mr Farouq and Mr Tariq also sexually abused him.

He replied: “Yeah they did, all three of them…the b****s.”

12:50Danielle Hoe

Phone conversation played for jury

The conversation between the pair was played to the jury during which the male complainant branded the three defendants "b****s".

She told him: "They did us a great wrong."

He added that Mr Tariq and Mr Farouq had visited him saying the female complainant was "confused" to which he said he "lost it".

He said: "I don't want the b****s to get away with it."

12:43Danielle Hoe

Prosecution on phone call recording

Mr Little said the prosecution rely on the content of the recording, firstly because it is evidence of the complaint from the male.

Secondly, he said, the detail and timing goes directly to rebut any suggestion in this case that the offending never occurred and that the allegations have been made up or concocted by the two complainants.

Mr Little said: “If it was concocted in this way then it was a highly sophisticated ploy for which there is no evidence.”

12:40Danielle Hoe

Two complainants shared messages on LinkedIn

Mr Little added that on May 31, 2016, the two complainants shared messages on LinkedIn.

In a message, the male complainant said: “I have evidence against that paedophile.”

During a later phone call instigated by the female, which was recorded, the male complainant said: “All three of them abused me. I didn’t know about you. I’m sorry.”

There was do discussion about the specifics about the abuse.

The man went on to say that Mr Farouq and Mr Tariq had visited him to tell him the female in the case was “confused”.

12:38Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed gave no comment when interviewed by police

Mr Little said Lord Ahmed was interviewed by police and gave a no comment interview.

Two days after he was questioned, the male he is alleged to have abused contacted police to report he had been sexually abused as a child.

Mr Little said the timing was significant.

12:33Danielle Hoe

Woman reported allegations in 2016

Mr Little said the allegations were only made in May 2016 when the woman, who alleged she had been abused by Lord Ahmed, contacted South Yorkshire Police.

She said that she feared other people her age may also have been victims at the time.

12:30Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed accused of attempted rape of young girl

Mr Little then told the jury about the allegation of the attempted rape of a young girl.

He said Lord Ahmed is accused of attempting to rape her twice in the early 1970s.

12:28Danielle Hoe

Latest from prosecution

Mr Little went on to tell the jury that while they may hear some events which did or may have occurred before some of the defendants’ 14th birthdays, they will only be asked to convict or make findings as to conduct that occurred AFTER their 14th birthday.

Mr Little said there was a presumption that a child who was 10, 11, 12, or 13 was not capable of committing any criminal offence.

He there was a historic presumption that a boy under 14 was physically incapable of having sexual intercourse.

The rape of the young boy represented a progression and the prosecution case is that at least one of those rapes of the boy must have taken place after Lord Ahmed’s 14th birthday.

12:21Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed accused of abusing young boy and girl

The prosecution say that Lord Ahmed abused the young boy as well as a girl.

Mr Little said that unlike his brothers his offending extended to penetration of the boy on at least three occasions.

He said the penetration was a “progression”.

12:10Danielle Hoe

Other brothers accused of a similar act on the same boy

Mr Tariq is accused of committing a similar act against the same boy, as is Lord Ahmed.

12:03Danielle Hoe

Prosecutors say abuse stopped when boy went to Pakistan

Mr Little said the abuse only stopped because the complainant went to Pakistan.

He added that there was never any penetration.

12:02Danielle Hoe

Abuse allegedly lasted for four years

The prosecution case against Mr Farouq is that he used to rub himself between the legs and buttocks of a young boy and did so on multiple occasions - more occasions than Mr Tariq or Lord Ahmed.

Mr Little said Mr Farouq was 17 years old when the offending started.

He added that the abuse continued for between three and four years.

11:54Danielle Hoe

Prosecution moving on to background of the case

Mr Little has now turned his attention to the jury bundle and told jurors to open it up to help with the background of the case.

11:52Danielle Hoe

Lord Ahmed says alleged abuse is 'malicious fiction'

Lord Ahmed’s case is that none of the alleged abuse took place and that it is all “malicious fiction”.

Mr Little said: “The real issues in relation to all three of them is - in reality - did it happen? Or more accurately are we sure?”

11:49Danielle Hoe

Two brothers watching proceedings remotely

The court determined that both Mr Farouq and Mr Tariq were not fit to stand trial and will be watching proceedings remotely.