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Imran Ahmad Khan

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For other people with similar names, see Imran Khan (disambiguation).
This British surname is barrelled, being made up of multiple names. It should be written as Ahmad Khan, not Khan.

Imran Ahmad Khan
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Wakefield
In office
12 December 2019 – 3 May 2022
Preceded byMary Creagh
Succeeded bySimon Lightwood
Personal details
Born
Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan

(1973-09-06) 6 September 1973 (age 51)
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
RelativesKarim Ahmad Khan (brother)
EducationSilcoates School
Alma mater
Signature
Criminal information
Criminal statusConvicted/found guilty
Conviction(s)Sexual assault[1][2]
Criminal penalty18 months in prison[3]

Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (born 6 September 1973)[4][5] is a British former politician and convicted sex offender. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield from the 2019 general election until 2022.[6] Elected as a Conservative, Ahmad Khan had the party whip withdrawn in June 2021; he was subsequently expelled from the party following his criminal conviction for child sexual assault in 2022.[7][2]

Born and educated in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, Ahmad Khan studied at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow and King's College London. He worked for the United Nations as special assistant for political affairs in Mogadishu and as a senior consultant for M&C Saatchi. A supporter of Brexit, he was elected in the 2019 general election and attributed his victory to voters' support for leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum.

In 2021, he was charged under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 with having sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy in 2008. Ahmad Khan denied the accusation "in the strongest terms".[8] On 11 April 2022, following a two week-long trial in the Southwark Crown Court, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor.[1] He resigned as an MP on 3 May and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on 23 May,[9] serving nine of these before being released in February 2023.

Early life and career

Ahmad Khan was born in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, where both his parents worked.[10] His father, Saeed Ahmad Khan, was born in the North West Frontier Province of British India (now in Pakistan), and worked as a consultant dermatologist.[11][12] His English mother was a state registered nurse and midwife.[13] His grandmother, Joyce Reynolds, also worked at Pinderfields Hospital as a staff sister.[12] His grandfather was a miner.[12] His brother is lawyer Karim Ahmad Khan KC.[14]

Ahmad Khan attended the local, private Silcoates School.[15] He studied Russian at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow, and earned a bachelor's degree in war studies at King's College London.[16] He worked for the United Nations as special assistant for political affairs in Mogadishu and as a senior consultant for the advertising agency, M&C Saatchi.[16][17] Having worked as a counter-terrorism expert prior to becoming an MP,[15] he joked his experience in conflict zones such as Somalia and Afghanistan gave him what would be needed to build bridges between warring parties in the Brexit battle.[18]

Political career

Member of Parliament (2019–2022)

In the 2019 general election, Ahmad Khan defeated the incumbent Labour MP, Mary Creagh, to become the first Conservative MP for Wakefield in 89 years.[19] Wakefield voted almost 2-to-1 in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum and was a target seat for the Conservatives.[18] He was selected after the withdrawal of a candidate whose racist and sexist social media posts were uncovered.[20] Labour's Creagh said: "Will the next candidate they parachute in be any better? Don’t hold your breath." Ahmad Khan responded by literally skydiving[21] over the town and retorted he was "a local lad born and bred in Wakefield, of Wakefield stock. I couldn't figuratively parachute in—and I didn't want to disappoint her—so I decided I would literally parachute in."[21]

In his maiden speech in January 2020, Ahmad Khan spoke of being part of "a vibrant and dynamic pack of Yorkshire MPs". He called for equality of opportunity to be made real, and for more patriotism: "I see perhaps more clearly than most the deep and enduring importance of core British values such as compassion, tolerance and fairness, especially at a time when those values are perceived as under threat in many parts of our world."[22]

Reviewing sexual offences against minors

Khan was part of a panel advising on grooming gangs and contributed to a paper called "Group-based child sexual exploitation characteristics of offending" while police were investigating him for child sexual abuse. Responding to the disclosures, Labour's shadow cabinet minister, Louise Haigh said, "Khan's victim told the Conservatives about sickening sexual abuse, and they did nothing, and then shamefully appointed him to sit alongside survivors of child sexual exploitation. (...) The Tories have serious questions to answer over how they gave this man free rein to exploit his position and victims of abuse. Boris Johnson and Priti Patel need to come clean about what the Conservative party knew and how they could possibly have put victims in this horrifying position in the first place."[23] The Home Office said it was not aware of the allegations against him at the time he was on the advisory panel.[24]

Activist Sammy Woodhouse was targeted, groomed and abused aged 14 and took part in a review with Khan. She said, "This was important work that I undertook in good faith, but I am disgusted to have been put in a position where I was working with a man later convicted for child sexual assault. Knowing now that the Conservatives had already received complaints from a victim about this man, it is gut-wrenching for me as a survivor that they could possibly have allowed him to be considered for this role."[25][26]

COVID-19 pandemic response

Ahmad Khan organised a shipment of 110,000 reusable face masks through connections with the charity Solidarités international and the Vietnamese Government. Most of the masks were for the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust's Pontefract, Pinderfields and Dewsbury and District Hospitals and 10,000 were distributed by the trust to local care homes and hospices.[10][27] He launched 'Wakefield Together' to co-ordinate local efforts to tackle difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]

Ahmad Khan helped secure £2.9 million for Wakefield's art hubs, including Theatre Royal Wakefield, the Creative Art House, and the West Yorkshire Theatre Dance Centre, via the Culture Recovery Fund.[28]

Resignation

Following his conviction for sexual assault, Ahmad Khan announced on 14 April 2022 that he would be resigning as an MP.[29] On 28 April 2022 he announced he had tendered his letter of resignation, effective from the end of April.[30] He was to receive the entirety of his April salary upon his resignation.[30][31]

His resignation was effected on 3 May 2022 following his appointment to the Chiltern Hundreds.[32][6]

As a result of this a by-election was held on 23 June, in which Labour recovered the seat.

Political positions

Brexit

Ahmad Khan supported Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. In an interview with Channel 4 he attributed his success in the 2019 general election to "Islington Remainers" who branded Leave voters "stupid, uneducated, racist or wrong".[33] According to him, he decided to stand in the election because he came to believe British democracy was "under threat".[12]

In September 2020, in a debate about the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, Ahmad Khan declared: "I am an ardent supporter of Brexit and look forward eagerly to the opportunity to bolster the United Kingdom's position by becoming an independent, self-governing nation, possessed of the confidence that flows from our vision and principled values". In his speech, he went on to explain his concerns over the Internal Market Bill before backing the legislation.[34]

National Trust coverage of slavery

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Ahmad Khan was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[35]

Personal life

Ahmad Khan describes himself as a "proud Yorkshireman" and a member of the Ahmadiyya community.[36] Shortly after his election in 2019, the LGBT+ Conservatives group described Ahmad Khan as 'openly gay' and he made news worldwide for becoming the first gay Muslim to be elected. They subsequently clarified that Ahmad Khan "fully endorses" the group's aims "but is not an out LGBT MP".[37][38] The confusion arose after an application was made in his name to a fund to help LGBT+ Conservative candidates.[39] Ahmad Khan subsequently came out as gay during his trial in 2022.[40][41][42]

Sexual offence

In June 2021, Ahmad Khan was charged on suspicion of a historical sexual offence of groping a 15-year-old boy, in Staffordshire, in 2008. Ahmad Khan denied the accusation;[8] the Conservative Party suspended the whip from Ahmad Khan pending the outcome of the prosecution.[43][44]

Ahmad Khan attempted to have the case heard in secrecy, first arguing that as a serving MP there were concerns about his safety and that to name him in court would breach his human rights, and attempted to have the age of his victim withheld. His applications were rejected by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring at Westminster Magistrates' Court, who said, in favour of open justice: "Damage to reputation is not a ground for making of an order."[45] Ahmad Khan, an Ahmadi Muslim, applied, unsuccessfully, to have the case heard anonymously as the consumption of alcohol and homosexual acts are strictly prohibited, and reporting them could expose him to risk both in the UK and abroad.[45]

On 10 September 2021, he pleaded not guilty at London's Old Bailey;[46] the case was transferred to Southwark Crown Court, for trial on 21 March 2022 on a single count of sexual assault. At trial he denied accusations of dragging a 15-year-old boy upstairs, forcing the boy to drink alcohol and watch pornography, and groping the boy's groin.[47][48] The complainant called police after Ahmad Khan was elected to Parliament. The complainant's older brother gave evidence that at the same party the MP had asked if he was "a true Scotsman" and lifted his kilt, before "lunging" at him. Another witness at the trial described waking to find Ahmad Khan performing a sex act on him after a party in Pakistan in 2010 where the pair had drunk whisky and smoked marijuana.[45]

On 11 April 2022 he was found guilty of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old boy, contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003,[1][49] and jailed for 18 months on 23 May. Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said that the boy, who was particularly vulnerable, had been profoundly psychologically affected, that Ahmad Khan did not regret his assault, and that he had displayed significant brutality.[47][50] The victim stated that he had found it hard to be touched, and his mental health was harmed, including suicidal thoughts.[3] Shortly after the trial Ahmad Khan was accused of having offered oral sex to a 16-year-old boy at a birthday party in Suffolk in 2015, and offering to take the youth to a hotel to use cocaine and hire a sex worker.[51]

Ahmad Khan was expelled from the Conservative Party following the conviction.[52] Ahmad Khan appealed against conviction and sentence,[53] but the appeal was dismissed in December 2022.[54] Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, chair of the Parliamentary committee on LGBTQ+ rights, defended Ahmad Khan after the trial, but was criticised for his "disgraceful" comments on the conviction as a "dreadful miscarriage of justice" and an international scandal".[55][52] Several members of the committee resigned in response to his statement;[52] Blunt subsequently apologised and withdrew his comments.[56]

On 5 December 2022, Imran Ahmad Khan lost an appeal at the Court of Appeal. Both appeals were dismissed by three senior judges. Dismissing the conviction appeal, Mr Justice Sweeney, sitting with Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Linden, said they had “no doubt” that the trial was fair and the conviction was safe.

The hearing was also attended by the Tory MP Crispin Blunt.[57][58][59]

Ahmad Khan was released from prison on 21 February 2023, having served half of his eighteen month sentence.[60]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP guilty of sex assault on 15-year-old boy". BBC News. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "MP convicted of sexual offence against boy". Crown Prosecution Service. 11 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b Hall, Rachel (23 May 2022). "Imran Ahmad Khan sentenced to 18 months over sexual assault of boy, 15". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  5. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan for Wakefield in the UK Parliament elections". Who Can I Vote For? by Democracy Club. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b Hinton, Megan (3 May 2022). "Imran Ahmad Khan quits as Wakefield MP after sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy". LBC. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP resigns after being found guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy". Sky News. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan charged with sexually assaulting boy". BBC News. 18 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: Ex-MP jailed for sex assault on teenage boy". BBC News. BBC. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b Scott, Geraldine (18 April 2020). "Wakefield MP arranges delivery of 110,000 reusable face masks from Vietnam for NHS". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Saeed Ahmad Khan". BMJ. 314 (7076): 308. 25 January 1997. doi:10.1136/bmj.314.7076.308. ISSN 0959-8138.
  12. ^ a b c d Scott, Geraldine (28 December 2019). "Imran Ahmad Khan: 'I never imagined in my worst nightmare that our democracy would be under threat at home'". Yorkshire Post.
  13. ^ AHMAD KHAN, IMRAN (30 September 2020). "Britain doesn't need benefits, it needs skills, says IMRAN AHMAD KHAN". Express.
  14. ^ Gye, Hugo (18 June 2021). "Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan faces trial over claim he sexually assaulted a teenage boy". i (newspaper). Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Wakefield Tory candidate Antony Calvert stands down over Facebook posts". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Imran Ahmad Khan". LinkedIn. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP guilty of sex assault on 15-year-old boy". BBC News. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  18. ^ a b Crilly, Rob (6 December 2019). "Echoes of Trump across the pond: Blue-collar Labour voters feel abandoned by party elite". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  19. ^ "The inside story of how Labour lost Wakefield for the first time since the 1930s at the 2019 General Election". Wakefield Express. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  20. ^ Perraudin, Frances (14 November 2019). "PM under fire for not sacking candidate who wrote 'racist' articles". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  21. ^ a b Scott, Geraldine (21 November 2019). "Tory candidate is literally parachuted in to Wakefield to counter opponents' claims". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  22. ^ Scott, Geraldine (13 January 2020). "New Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan pays tribute to 'calm, concise, and experienced' Labour rival Mary Creagh in maiden speech". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  23. ^ Syal, Rajeev (26 April 2022). "Ex-Tory MP guilty of molesting boy was on panel advising on grooming gangs". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP guilty of sexual assault advised Home Office on child sexual exploitation". BBC News. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  25. ^ Wingate, Sophie (27 April 2022). "Rotherham survivor 'disgusted' MP Khan reviewed Home Office grooming paper". The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  26. ^ Syal, Rajeev (27 April 2022). "Rotherham abuse survivor condemns Tories over Imran Ahmad Khan role". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  27. ^ a b Imran Ahmad Khan (17 April 2020). "Politically speaking: Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad-Khan on the government's response to coronavirus". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  28. ^ Imran Ahmad Khan, MP for Wakefield (25 December 2020). "Political column: Imran Ahmad Khan MP - A bright future beckons amidst the uncertainty". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  29. ^ Allegretti, Aubrey (14 April 2022). "MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigns after conviction for child sexual assault". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  30. ^ a b Pidd, Helen (28 April 2022). "Imran Ahmad Khan completes MP resignation process with full April pay". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Contact Imran Ahmad Khan". UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  32. ^ HM Treasury. "Three Hundreds of Chiltern". gov.uk.
  33. ^ "'Islington Remainers' branded Leave voters 'stupid, uneducated, racist or wrong', says Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan". Channel 4. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  34. ^ "Any lost moral authority over Brexit 'will be difficult to repair' – Imran Ahmad Khan". Yorkshire Post. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  35. ^ Imran Khan and other members of the Houses of Parliament (9 November 2020). "Britain's heroes". The Daily Telegraph (letters). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Imran Khan becomes first Ahmadi to be elected to British Parliament". Rabwah Times. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  37. ^ "Tories apologise after Imran Ahmad Khan was 'incorrectly' named as first openly gay Muslim MP". ITV News. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  38. ^ Mahmood, Basit (20 December 2019). "Conservative Party apologises for saying MP was 'openly gay'". Metro. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  39. ^ Scott, Geraldine (18 December 2019). "Yorkshire Tory wrongly described as 'openly gay' after mistaken application to LGBT+ fund". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  40. ^ "Imran Khan: Tory press office failed to deal with allegations MP sexually assaulted teenage boy, court hears". Sky News. 31 March 2022.
  41. ^ Pidd, Helen (11 April 2022). "Imran Ahmad Khan: Tory MP in sexual assault case had oddball reputation". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  42. ^ Willems, Michiel (29 March 2022). "Imran Ahmad Khan goes on trial in London for groping young boy". CityAM. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  43. ^ "Tory MP faces trial over alleged 2008 assault on 15-year-old boy". The Guardian. PA Media. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  44. ^ Evans, Martin (18 June 2021). "Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan accused of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  45. ^ a b c "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP guilty of sex assault on 15-year-old boy". BBC News. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  46. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: Trial set for Wakefield MP accused of sexual assault". BBC News. 16 December 2021.
  47. ^ a b Imran Ahmad Khan: Former Tory MP sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy Sky news
  48. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: Wakefield MP sexually assaulted boy at party, trial told". BBC News. 29 March 2022.
  49. ^ Keane, Daniel (11 April 2022). "Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy". Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  50. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: Ex-MP jailed for sex assault on teenage boy". BBC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  51. ^ Pridd, Helen (15 April 2022). "Man accuses Imran Ahmad Khan of propositioning him when he was 16". The Guardian.
  52. ^ a b c Walker, Peter; Selby, Jenn (11 April 2022). "Blunt's criticism of Imran Ahmad Khan verdict sparks fury among MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  53. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: What could happen to MP after his conviction?". The Independent. PA. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  54. ^ Bryant, Miranda (5 December 2022). "Ex-MP Imran Ahmad Khan loses appeal against sexual assault conviction". The Guardian.
  55. ^ "Tory Crispin Blunt criticised for 'disgraceful' comments on jury conviction of fellow MP Imran Ahmad Khan". Sky News. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  56. ^ "Crispin Blunt apologises for defending sex offender MP Imran Ahmad Khan". BBC News. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  57. ^ "MP Crispin Blunt confronted by sex abuse victim over support of Imran Khan". ITV News. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  58. ^ "Ex-MP Imran Ahmad Khan loses appeal against sexual assault conviction". The Guardian. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  59. ^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: Former MP loses appeal against sexual assault conviction". Sky News. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  60. ^ Corcoran, Sophie (21 February 2023). "Paedophile Wakefield Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan released from prison". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Wakefield
2019–2022 		Succeeded by
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