Britain's first Muslim peer faces charges over text message he sent shortly before fatal car crash

Labour peer Lord Ahmed could face charges over a text message allegedly sent from his mobile phone shortly before a motorway crash in which a 28-year-old man was killed.

He was driving his gold Jaguar X-type on the M1 on Christmas Day when he smashed into a car which had spun out of control and had come to rest in the fast lane facing the wrong way.

The 50-year-old peer was badly shaken and suffered 'cuts and bruises' in the accident in which his wife Sakina, 49, and his mother, who is in her mid-80s, also suffered minor injuries.

Martyn Gombar, the Slovakian driver of the other car, was killed instantly.

A routine police investigation into the death crash has focused on the use of his mobile phone in the minutes before Lord Ahmed used it to call the emergency services.

A text was allegedly sent to a journalist friend during this period and police have been trying to establish the circumstances in which it was sent and by whom.

Motorists who send texts at the wheel face being charged with causing death by dangerous driving if using the mobile is believed to have played a part in an accident in which someone is killed. The maximum sentence is 14 years.

But yesterday Lord Ahmed denied committing such an offence. He said:'I would strenuously deny any allegation of death by dangerous driving, other than that I cannot comment.'

South Yorkshire Police has prepared a file on the case which will shortly be sent to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider.

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A police source said: 'Evidence relating to his mobile phone indicates that it was used to send a text message two or three minutes before a 999 call was made from the same phone to report the fatal accident.

'Inquiries were made with the recipient of the text message and Lord Ahmed was interviewed about the circumstances of the text. It will be a matter for lawyers at the CPS to evaluate the strength of the evidence before decided what charges, if any, can be made.'

There is no mystery about the circumstances of the collision. Police have established the car was stationary in the fast lane and the CPS could decide there is no blame attached to Lord Ahmed.

The Audi A4 hit the central barrier and stopped in the fast lane near to Junction 35 at Rotherham, at 6.20 pm on Christmas Day.

Mr Gombar and his 30-year-old passenger managed to reach the hard shoulder, but police believe the driver then tried to dodge fast moving traffic to get back to his car to retrieve his mobile phone and call for help.

Lord Ahmed hit the car and driver and four other vehicles following on behind crashed as they tried to take evasive action. Mr Gombar suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at Rotherham District Hospital.

The dead man had been living in the Leigh area of Lancashire. His passenger, also a Slovakian was arrested by police and questioned.

Lord Ahmed, his wife and mother were taken to hospital and released after treatment.

After the accident he confirmed being at the wheel when it happened. He said:'I was just driving along when I saw a red Audi facing the wrong way -- it was absolutely horrendous but I don't want to talk about it.

'I am not able to say much about the accident because the police are still investigating the case. It was terrible. There was a red car in the third lane facing the wrong way and there was nothing I could do.'

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'Inquiries are ongoing, with a view to submitting a file to the CPS when those have been completed.'

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service in Sheffield said: 'We are expecting to receive a file from the police in relation to the incident. When we receive the file it will be referred to our casework team.'

Lord Ahmed, a father-of-three, was only minutes from his home when the accident happened. The motorway was closed for several hours and police appealed for witnesses.

A businessman and property developer, Lord Ahmed is married with three children and has become an influential figure in the Labour Party in recent years.

He was a JP and councillor before being given a seat in the House of Lords in 1998. He is now seen as one of the leaders of the Muslim community in the UK, he has tried to ease tensions following terrorist attacks in London.

He also helped free British teacher Gillian Gibbons from jail in the Sudan over the naming of a teddy bear.