Labour peer Lord Ahmed suspended over 'Obama bounty'

Labour peer Lord Ahmed has been suspended by the party while it investigates reports that he offered a £10m "bounty" for the capture of US President Barack Obama.

He was said to have offered the money for the capture of Mr Obama and his predecessor in the White House, George Bush, at a reception in Pakistan in response to an American reward for the capture of a prominent Pakistani radical.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who founded the violent extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed. A Labour spokeswoman said: "We have suspended Lord Ahmed pending investigation. If these comments are accurate we utterly condemn these remarks which are totally unacceptable.

"The international community is rightly doing all in its power to seek justice for the victims of the Mumbai bombings and halt terrorism."

Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper said the remarks were made at a reception in Haripur on Friday. It said the peer called the US bounty on Saeed "an insult to all Muslims".

"If the US can announce a reward of $10m for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10m on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush," Lord Ahmed is reported to have said.

He added that he would sell his house to fund it if necessary, according to the newspaper.