Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, was convicted in Southwark Crown Court. The court heard that a Wakefield MP in West Yorkshire forced the boy to drink gin and tonic at a party before dragging the teenager upstairs, pushing him to a bed and then asking him to watch pornography before the attack. The victim, now 29, told jurors he felt “scared, vulnerable, numb, shocked and surprised” after Khan touched his legs and feet. He said the lawmaker was “a hair’s breadth away” from his privates as he tried to sleep on a bunk bed. Image: Khan, 48, denied the sexual assault He ran to his parents and the police reported it at that time, but no further action was taken because the young man did not want to make a formal complaint. However, he told jurors that “everything went back” when Khan was running in the December 2019 general election. He said he did not “take it too seriously” when he made the claim in the Conservative Party’s press office a few days before Khan was elected to Wakefield MP in the December 2019 general election. He made the complaint to police a few days after Hahn helped Prime Minister Boris Johnson win a large majority of Communities by defeating Wakefield. Khan received a questionnaire from Staffordshire Police instead of interviewing him carefully at the station because of the “COVID protocols in force at the time”. The lawmaker, who is gay and Muslim, denied the sexual assault and claimed to have touched the Catholic teenager’s elbow only when he “became extremely upset” after a discussion about his confused sexuality. Khan, then 34, said he was trying to be “polite” and “helpful”, but the teenager was upset and “sunk” when the issue of pornography was raised. The lawmaker, who has been suspended by the Conservative Party, was found guilty by a court after five hours of deliberation. The judge, Justice Baker, will sentence Khan at a later date. Releasing Khan on bail, he told him: “You have been convicted by a jury for this offense of sexual assault and you should be convicted in due course. “I make it clear that all sentencing options, including immediate detention, are being considered by the court.” The Labor Party has demanded that Khan be removed immediately, with a spokesman saying: “Imran Ahmad Khan should resign immediately so that by-elections can be held and the people of Wakefield get the representation they deserve.”

A by-election in the seat of the “red wall” is now very likely

          Joe Pike

Political correspondent @joepike Labor officials had paid close attention to the trial of Imran Ahmad Khan. The condemnation of the Tory MP means that a by-election in the marginal seat of the “red wall” of Wakefield is now very likely. If he is sentenced to more than a year in prison, Khan will automatically be barred from serving as a member of parliament and will lose his seat. A shorter sentence of imprisonment will result in a revocation request where voters can choose to expel him. The constituency supported Brexit by 63%. That was one reason why Labor MP Mary Creagh lost her seat in 2019. She is not expected to return to Yorkshire. Sources in the Labor Party are optimistic about their chances of winning. Without the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn or Brexit, and with a cost-of-life crisis, they argue that Wakefield has now won. But it will be another important test for Keir Starmer’s leadership. If Khan is sentenced to 12 months or more in prison, he will be removed from office immediately, prompting a by-election in Wakefield. If the sentence is less than 12 months, his voters could trigger a recall process to hold by-elections as soon as the appeal process is exhausted.