Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan denies the charge of sexual assault.
Image source, UK Parliament
An MP asked an 18-year-old if he was “a true Scotsman” and lifted his kilt, before sexually assaulting the man’s younger brother in a bunkbed, a court has heard.
Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, denies one charge of sexual assault.
The alleged incidents are said to have taken place at a party at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008.
Mr Khan was elected as the Conservative MP for Wakefield in 2019.
Prosecutor Sean Larkin QC told a jury at Southwark Crown Court the 18-year-old had been attending the party in a kilt when the defendant approached him and asked if he was wearing it like “a true Scotsman”.
“Khan then lifted up the kilt with both hands and lunged at him so that he thought he was going to grab him,” Mr Larkin said.
The teenager pushed down his kilt and said although he had experience of others trying to lift it, the incident “felt very different”, Southwark Crown Court heard.
‘Good-looking boy’
Mr Larkin said the man’s 15-year-old brother was in bed on the top bunk and could hear Khan’s “breathing was getting quite heavy”.
“When (the complainant) went to bed, Khan stood by that top bunk, reached in and touched his legs, reaching for, or actually touching, his groin.
“We suggest either way it was sexual assault. He pushed him away but he kept going and when it would not stop he fled.”
The complainant, who cannot be identified, was “distraught” when he reached his parents, Mr Larkin said.
Police were called and the incident was reported by the boy, with him telling officers the defendant had asked him to “show me some porn” and told him he was a “good-looking boy”.
The boy did not pursue the case at the time, but later went back to police when he discovered Mr Khan was standing as an MP, the prosecutor added.
Due to the pandemic Mr Khan was not interviewed by police but was sent a list of questions.
“In summary, he denied any sexual assault had taken place,” Mr Larkin said.
Mr Khan said the boy had asked him about “sexuality” before he “became distressed and left”, and the only time he had touched him was on his elbow after he had left the bed.
The trial continues.
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