necessary. In the event, the film Fitna was broadcast as planned, but Wilders was denied entry to the UK, thus leading many commentators to deplore the action by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith as appeasement. Imprisonment for dangerous driving On 25 December 2007, Ahmed was involved in a crash on the M1 motorway near Rotherham in which Martin Gombar, 28, was killed. Gombar's car had been involved in a crash and he had left it in the outer lane. Apparently trying to return to his vehicle from the hard shoulder he was hit by Ahmed, who was driving his Jaguar X-Type. Ahmed's wife and mother, who were passengers in the car, also received minor injuries. On 1 December 2008, Ahmed appeared at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on a charge of dangerous driving. Ahmed admitted sending and receiving five text messages on his phone while driving two minutes before the crash, and pleaded guilty. He was banned from driving until his sentencing. On 22 December, Sheffield Magistrates' Court referred the case for sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court on 19 January due to its "aggravating features". This was later put back until 25 February. Ahmed was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, which meant he would serve six weeks in jail, and he was disqualified from driving for 12 months. On 12 March 2009 Ahmed’s sentence was varied by the Court of Appeal. Lady Justice Hallett said it was important to state that Ahmed's offence was one of dangerous driving, not of causing death by dangerous driving. Hallett said that there was "little or nothing" Ahmed could have done to avoid the collision and that after being knocked unconscious, he had come to and "risked his life trying to flag down other vehicles to stop them colliding with the Audi or his car". She said that while his prison sentence had been justified, the court had been persuaded it could now take an "exceptional" course and suspend the sentence for 12 months. He was released (subject to the suspended sentence) 16 days into his original sentence. In subsequent interviews, Ahmed incorrectly stated that he had no criminal record and that his sentence was overturned. Bounty allegation A Pakistani newspaper, The Express Tribune, erroneously alleged that Ahmed said "If the US can announce a reward of $10 million for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10 million on President