Rising star Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan, 47, elected in 2019 faces tria
Rising star Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan, 47, elected in 2019 faces trial for sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy in 2008
- Conservative MP for Wakefield Imran Ahmad Khan, 47, is facing trial
- He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday by video-link
- He can be named on Friday after reporting restrictions were lifted
A Tory MP is facing trial accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008, it can now be revealed.
Imran Ahmad Khan, 47, the Conservative MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is alleged to have groped the teenager in Staffordshire.
Ahmad Khan, who was elected at the 2019 general election, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday by video-link from his lawyers’ office.
He can be named today after reporting restrictions were lifted.
Ahmad Khan, from Wakefield, faces a single count of sexual assault against the teenager, who cannot be identified because he is an alleged victim of a sexual offence, in 2008.
Ahmad Khan, who was elected at the 2019 general election, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday by video-link from his lawyers’ office (file image)
The charge, which was read out in court, read: ‘In the county of Staffordshire you intentionally touched a boy aged 15 and that touching was sexual when he did not consent and you did not reasonably believe that he was consenting, contrary to Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.’
Asked to indicate a plea to the charge, Ahmad Khan, who was represented by Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, said: ‘Not guilty.’
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said the case was not suitable for trial in the magistrates’ court and sent the case to the Old Bailey.
He told Ahmad Khan: ‘You must appear at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, on July 15 at 9.30am. Between now and then you are granted unconditional bail.
‘If you do not attend on that occasion, unless there is a very good reason, you potentially commit an offence.
‘Do you understand that?’
Ahmad Khan replied: ‘I do.’
According to his website, the MP was born in Wakefield, where he attended the independent Silcoates School before going to university at the Pushkin Institute in Russia and graduating from King’s College in London with a bachelor’s degree in war studies.
Before entering Parliament, he worked for the United Nations as a special assistant for political affairs in Mogadishu.
