An accused Conservative MP of sexually assaulting 13-year-old boy will face trial next March.
Imran Khan Khan, 48, is alleged to have groped the child in Jan 2008, at a Staffordshire home.
Today, Mr Khan appeared via videolink at the Old Bailey as Conservative MP for Wakefield West Yorkshire in 2019.
When he made his appearance at the Old Bailey on September 13, the MP denied one charge of sexual assault.
Judge Mrs Justice McGowan provisionally fixed the two week trial for March 21, 2022, at Southwark Crown Court.
Imran Ahmad Khan (47), Conservative MP for Wakefield West Yorkshire said that he denied ‘in strongest terms’ the allegation that he had groped a teenager from Staffordshire
In the meantime, the Conservative Party suspended the MP. He faces one count of sexual assault on the then-teenager. Photo: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ahmed Khan
Earlier this year, Mr Khan posted a statement on Twitter which read: ‘It is true that an accusation has been made against me.
‘May I make it clear from the outset that the allegation, which is from over 13 years ago, is denied in the strongest terms.
“This subject is very distressing and I take it seriously.
“It is destabilizing, traumatic and shocking to be accused of something that I didn’t do.” I am innocent.
The difficult situation of being falsely accused is that of me. I have to bear the pain of painful speculation and be able to move on with my life.
“I am requesting privacy because I’m trying to clean my name.”
He is still free to remain on conditional bail until his trial in January next year.
Wakefield’s Mr Khan helped Boris Johnson to win a significant Commons majority in 2019. The Tories now represent 45 percent of Northern Powerhouse constituencies.
With his win, he turned Wakefield blue – which was once part of the so-called “red wall” that divided Labour’s heartlands in England and the Midlands –
The ‘blue wall’ MP has had the Tory whip suspended pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
According to his website the MP was born Wakefield. There he studied at Silcoates School, an independent school, before heading to university in Russia at Pushkin Institute. In London, he graduated from King’s College with a bachelor’s in war studies.
He worked as an assistant to the United Nations in Mogadishu before he entered Parliament.
The Crown Prosecution Service had previously stated that it decided to indict Mr Khan following a review of the evidence provided by Staffordshire Police.
Staffordshire Police had been investigating the case of historic sexual assault for nearly a full year but never made an arrest.