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       Tory MP leaves court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy

       Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been branded “disgraceful” after he came to the defence of Imran Ahmad Khan, a Wakefield parliamentarian thrown out of the party following his conviction in a child sex offence case.

       On Monday, Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy more than a decade before he entered parliament and is now awaiting a sentence.

       Denouncing his conviction, Mr Blunt, also the chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on global LGBT+ rights, said that Khan was a victim of a “dreadful miscarriage of justice” and his sentencing will be “an international scandal” having “dreadful” consequences for gay Muslims worldwide.

       His comments drew widespread condemnation from several members with SNP MPs Martin Docherty-Hughes and Stewart McDonald quitting their positions as vice-chairs and calling on him to stand down.

       Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Chancellor Rishi Sunak of “rank hypocrisy” for using “schemes” to reduce his tax burden as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.

       The embattled multimillionaire chancellor is facing questions over his family’s tax arrangements and wrote to the PM seeking an investigation just days after The Independent revealed his wife’s “non-dom“ tax status.

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       Show latest update 1649737028 Tory MP branded ‘disgraceful’ for defending Khan

       Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been branded “disgraceful” after coming to the defence of a colleague thrown out of the party after his conviction for a child sex offence.

       Mr Blunt, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on global LGBT+ rights, denounced the conviction of Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan as “an international scandal” which would have “dreadful” consequences for gay Muslims worldwide.

       But he was condemned by Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds, who called on Boris Johnson and Tory chair Oliver Dowden to distance their party from his remarks.

       And he faced a revolt from members of the APPG, with SNP MPs Martin Docherty-Hughes and Stewart McDonald quitting their positions as vice-chairs and calling on him to stand down. The SNP’s Joanna Cherry and Kirsten Oswald and Labour MP Chris Bryant left the group over the “completely inappropriate” remarks.

       Read the details in this report by our political editor Andrew Woodcock.

       Tory MP comes to defence of colleague convicted of child sex offence Crispin Blunt claimed Imran Ahmad Khan guilty verdict was ‘miscarriage of justice’ and ‘international scandal’

       Namita Singh 12 April 2022 05:17

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       Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of UK politics for Tuesday, 13 April 2022.

       Namita Singh 12 April 2022 04:52