Imran Ahmad Khan: Former Tory MP loses sexual assault appeal bid

Ex-Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan has lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his conviction for sexual assault.

Khan, 48, was jailed for 18 months in May after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a party in Staffordshire in 2008.

He was expelled by the Conservative party following his conviction and later stood down as MP for Wakefield.

The trial heard Khan had forced the boy to drink gin then dragged him upstairs and assaulted him.

The former MP's appeal against his conviction and sentence was heard at the Court of Appeal in November.

Khan's lawyers argued his conviction was "unsafe" because the case against him was "weak" and was bolstered by "bad character evidence" in the form of a man who alleged he had been sexually assaulted as an adult by Khan in Pakistan in 2010.

They also argued his jail term was too long for the offence and should have been a suspended sentence.

However, in a ruling on Monday, 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: "The [trial] judge was plainly entitled to conclude that the prosecution case in relation to [the victim's] complaint was not weak.

"Indeed, in our view, the case was far from weak."

He added: "Against that overall background, we have no doubt that the appellant's trial was fair and that his conviction was safe."

Mr Justice Sweeney said the judge had also given due consideration to suspending the sentence, especially in light of the care needs of Khan's frail mother and the fact he was her sole carer before he was jailed.

But the judge had concluded that custody was necessary in all the circumstances, he added.

"In our view, on the particular facts of this case, he was entitled to reach that conclusion," Mr Justice Sweeney said.

The victim, now 29, had told Southwark Crown Court he was left feeling "scared, vulnerable, numb, shocked and surprised" after Khan touched his feet and legs, and was within "a hair's breadth" of his genitals.

The court was told that a police report was made at the time concerning the incident, but no further action was taken because the youngster did not want to make a formal complaint.

However, the victim told jurors "it all came flooding back" when he learned Khan was standing in the December 2019 general election and he went on to file a complaint.

Passing sentence in May, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said the victim had been "profoundly psychologically affected" by Khan's actions.

The trial judge added he did not accept Khan had "any remorse" for what he had done.

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