London, Jan 2 (IANS) A prominent Indian-born doctor Wednesday strongly denied media reports that said he is the main corporate backer of Britain’s Liberal Democrats – the same party that nominated him for life peerage.
Lord Khalid Hameed, who was made a peer in February after being nominated by Liberal Democrat treasurer Lord Clement-Jones and deputy leader Lord Navneet Dholakia, is associated with a company that has given the party nearly £400,000 (Rs.30.1 million), The Times said.
The newspaper named the company as Alpha Healthcare, which deals with corporate healthcare, and said its ultimate ownership is secret but added that Hameed sits on the board of a sister company, Alpha Hospitals.
However, a spokesman for Alpha Hospitals strongly denied the allegation, and said it was considering its legal position.
“Any suggestion that there is any link between the donations by Alpha Healthcare and Lord Hameed’s peerage is complete and utter nonsense, and we are considering our legal position at the moment,” spokesman Eben Black told IANS.
He said Lucknow-born Hameed, a prominent Non-Resident Indian (NRI) in Britain for at least 20 years, has “nothing to do with Alpha Healthcare whatsoever”.
Black said Hameed was linked to Alpha Hospitals as chairman of a project to build London’s largest private hospital. Known as the London International Hospital project, it is to be based in West London and may be completed this year.
Hameed, as CEO of Cromwell Hospital in London, was responsible for the treatment of many visiting Indian dignitaries in the 1990s and has been a familiar face at the Indian High Commission. He was known as a strong supporter of secularism in India.
The soft-spoken doctor is also a prominent inter-faith figure, and was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.