British Lord Jailed over Fatal Road Accident After Sending Text Messages

The British Lord  has been jailed for 12 weeks following a conviction for dangerous driving which lead to a fatal crash. Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer in the House of Lords was involved in an accident on Christmas Day 2007 when it hit another motorist who was killed instantly.

Ahmed, 51, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving when he appeared at Sheffield magistrates court last year.

He had been accused of sending text messages on his mobile phone whilst driving at 60mph in the dark, just moments prior to the crash. Steve Smith, Ahmed's solicitor, had argued in court that the sending of the text messages was unconnected with the fatal accident.

Lord Ahmed has also been disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Earlier this year, another British motorist, Kiera Coultas who was sending a text message while driving her car was sentenced to four years in prison after she was also involved in a fatal accident. "The serious part of your conduct was that you were sending a text on your mobile phone having just received one," said Judge Jeremy Burford when sentencing at the time.

Posted to the site on 25th February 2009