MP Imran Ahmad Khan expelled from Conservative Party after conviction for sexually assaulting boy
MP was found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a house in Staffordshire in 2008
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MP Imran Ahmad Khan has been thrown out of the Conservative Party after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
A spokesperson for the Tories said Khan, 48, had been expelled "with immediate effect" following the verdict at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
Jurors found Khan was guilty after hearing how he forced the teenager to drink gin and tonic, dragged him upstairs, pushed him on to a bed and asked him to watch pornography before the attack at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008.
The victim made a complaint to police days after Khan helped prime minister Boris Johnson win a large Commons majority by taking Wakefield in the so-called "red wall" that had formed Labour's heartlands in the Midlands and northern England.
The MP was originally suspended from the party in anticipation of Monday’s verdict, with the decision to expel him taken after confirmation of the jury’s verdict.
Khan’s defence team has since said it will appeal against his conviction, which could cause delays to a potential by-election in his Wakefield seat.
It comes after Labour earlier called for Khan’s immediate resignation as an MP in the wake of Monday’s verdict.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Imran Ahmad Khan should immediately resign so a by-election can take place and the people of Wakefield can get the representation they deserve.”
Khan will be expelled from the House of Commons if he is handed a prison sentence of more than a year, or otherwise could be subject to a petition to oust him in the recall process.
The judge, Mr Justice Baker, said he will sentence the disgraced MP on a later date.
He released Khan on bail, telling him: “You have been convicted by a jury of this offence of sexual assault and you will have to be sentenced in due course.
“I make it clear that all sentencing options, including immediate custody, are being considered by the court.”
Khan said the boy had become upset and “bolted” from a bedroom when their conversation turned to the topic of pornography.
He rejected any suggestion their interaction was of a sexual nature, instead saying he had been engaged in a “philosophical” discussion about sexuality with the teen over the course of the evening.
When asked if he had any agenda in speaking about sexuality, he told Southwark Crown Court: “No, absolutely not. Not at all. I was just trying to be kind and helpful to a young man who wanted to talk.
“He seemed very keen to want to talk about this [sexuality]. I think it would have been rude or perhaps a tad cruel to shut him down.”
In the aftermath of Khan’s conviction today, it also emerged that the MP had made efforts to gag the media from reporting his name over the charge of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old boy.
In addition, the MP attempted the block the age of his victim, his own homosexuality, and even his penchant for a gin and tonic from being released into the public domain.
Despite undergoing two expensive legal challenges from media organisations, Khan’s bid for secrecy fell through.