The Conservative MP for Wakefield will step down following his conviction for sexually assaulting a minor.

He said it was “intolerable” that his constituents not be represented while the courts decide how to sentence him.

Earlier this week Southwark Crown Court found Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan guilty of sexually assaulting a 15 year-old boy.

He denied the charge.

A Conservative party spokesperson said on Monday 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.”

The Wakefield MP has been suspended from the Conservative party since June 2021 when it was revealed he was set to stand trial.

Following his conviction on Monday he was expelled from the party with immediate effect.
If handed a custodial sentence more than 12 months Ahmad Khan would have been removed from the House of Commons.

The conviction relates to an attack at a Staffordshire house in 2008, where he allegedly forced the victim to drink alcohol and view pornography before assaulting him.

Crispin Blunt MP chair of the APPG on global LGBT+ rights, was criticised for claiming that Ahmad Khan’s conviction had “dreadful wider implications for millions of LGBT+ Muslims around the world.”

Blunt’s statement has now been deleted from his website and he issued an apology.