Labour has suspended one of its peers as it launched an investigation into allegations that he blamed a Jewish conspiracy for his imprisonment for dangerous driving.

According to the Times, Lord Ahmed blamed his prison sentence – for sending text messages shortly before his car was involved in a fatal crash – on pressure placed on the courts by Jews "who own newspapers and TV channels".

The Muslim peer allegedly told an Urdu-language broadcast in Pakistan that the judge who jailed him for 12 weeks was appointed to the high court after helping a "Jewish colleague" of Tony Blair during an important case.

Following publication of the remarks in the Times on Thursday, a Labour spokesman said: "The Labour party deplores and does not tolerate any sort of antisemitism.

"Following reports in the Times today we are suspending Lord Ahmed pending an investigation."