Yorkshire MP to appear in court today accused of sexual assault on 15-year-old boy
An Yorkshire MP accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy in 2008 is due to appear at the Old Bailey to formally enter a plea.
Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who has been suspended by the Tories, faces a single count of sexual assault against the then-teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The charge alleges: “In the county of Staffordshire you intentionally touched a boy aged 15 and that touching was sexual when he did not consent and you did not reasonably believe that he was consenting, contrary to Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.”
The 47-year-old politician has previously issued a denial to the allegation “in the strongest terms”.
Today (Jul 15) the MP, who is on unconditional bail, is due to appear by video link before the Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft QC for a plea and directions hearing.
Ahmad Khan, from Wakefield, helped Boris Johnson win a large Commons majority by taking the constituency in the so-called “red wall” that formed Labour’s heartlands in the Midlands and the north of England.
The Conservatives have previously said the whip had been suspended from Ahmad Khan, meaning he would sit as an independent in the Commons.