1. 3 updates

Peer suspended over 'bounty'

Labour peer Lord Ahmed has denied claims he offered a £10 million "bounty" for the capture of US president Barack Obama and said he was "surprised" that he had been suspended by the party.

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Lord Ahmed denies offering a 'bounty'

Lord Ahmed has firmly denied offering a bounty. He said he told the meeting that Mr Bush and Tony Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes.

They have suspended me? That's a surprise to me. I did not know. I did not offer a bounty. I said that there have been war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan and those people who have got strong allegations against them - George W Bush and Tony Blair have been involved in illegal wars and should be brought to justice. I do not think there's anything wrong with that... If the Labour Party want to suspend me I will deal with the Labour Party. They will have to give me some evidence.

– LORD AHMED

Alleged 'bounty' comments 'totally unacceptable'

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.

– Labour Party statement

Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper says the remarks were made at a reception in Haripur on Friday.

It claims the peer called the US bounty on Saeed "an insult to all Muslims".

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Peer suspended over Obama 'bounty'

Lord Ahmed Credit: Reuters

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

He was said to have offered the cash for the capture of Mr Obama and White House predecessor 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.

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