Tory MP faces trial for alleged sexual abuse of teenage boy

Imran Ahmad Khan, a Tory MP for Wakefield, is facing trial after being accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy 14 years ago. The trial which was earlier scheduled to start on March 21 will now commence on March 28.

Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, has been accused of groping the boy at a house in Staffordshire in 2008. However, he had previously denied the charges "in the strongest terms." He faces a single charge of sexual assault towards the teenager.

The Westminster magistrates court had sent the case to the Old Bailey for hearing, stating that the case was not suitable for trial in the magistrate's court.

In a statement issued on Twitter last year, Khan had said: "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 matter is deeply distressing to me and I of course, take it extremely seriously. To be accused of doing something I did not do is shocking, destabilising, and traumatic," he added. He remains on unconditional bail ahead of the trial.

"Those, like me, who are falsely accused of such actions are in the difficult position of having to endure damaging and painful speculation until the case is concluded. I ask for privacy as I work to clear my name," he concluded.

The Crown Prosecution Service had previously said that it made the decision to charge the MP after reviewing evidence from Staffordshire Police where the alleged incident occurred.

Staffordshire Police had conducted an investigation into the matter for more than a year - but did not make an arrest during that time, according to Daily Mail.

Khan used to work for the United Nations as a special assistant for political affairs in Mogadishu before entering parliament. He was elected as Conservative MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in 2019.