Yesterday evening a senior Conservative MP sparked fierce criticism after he referred to the conviction of a fellow MP for sexual assault of a minor as “nothing short of an international scandal”.
Yesterday, Southwark Crown Court found Conservative MP Imran Ahmed Khan guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy.
He denied the charge.
The attack on a Staffordshire home in 2008 was the subject of the conviction. He allegedly made the victim drink alcohol and watch pornography before attacking him.
Blunt, chair of the APPG on global LGBT+ rights, claimed that Ahmad Khan’s conviction had “dreadful wider implications for millions of LGBT+ Muslims around the world.”
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Several MPs have now resigned from the APPG in protest of Blunt’s leadership, and have called for him to step down from the role.
He did not provide any evidence to support his conviction.
Armed forces minister James Heappey stressed in an interview with Sky News’ Breakfast programme today that the government “distances itself” from Blunt’s remarks.
When pressed on whether he thought Blunt would retract the remarks, Heappey said: “I don’t know because I have no idea what it is that Crispin is referring to in the comments that he has said.
“All I know is that in a court of law yesterday Mr Khan was found guilty and I think everyone of us who believes in the judicial system and the rule of law has to respect that judgement.
“I think it is for Crispin to account for his words but it is not something the Government associates itself with.”
A Conservative party spokesperson said yesterday evening that: ““A jury of Mr Khan’s peers has found him guilty of a criminal offence. We completely reject any allegations of impropriety against our independent judiciary, the jury or Mr Khan’s victim.”
Since June 2021, when it was revealed that he was being tried for treason, the Wakefield MP has been expelled from the Conservative party.
Ahmad Khan will be removed as a member of the House of Commons, if he is given a sentence of imprisonment that exceeds 12 months.
He could also be subject to a recall petition in his local constituency to remove him as Conservative MP, which would trigger a byelection.
