Crispin Blunt apologises for statement defending Imran Ahmad Khan, who was convicted of sexual assault.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has apologised for a statement defending fellow MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who was convicted of sexual assault.
Wakefield MP Khan was found guilty on Monday of assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.
Mr Blunt called the verdict a “dreadful miscarriage of justice” in a statement on his website.
He deleted the message after Tory bosses said it was “wholly unacceptable” and has now apologised.
The Reigate MP said: “I am sorry that my defence of him has been a cause of significant upset and concern not least to victims of sexual offences.”
Mr Blunt also said he did not condone any form of abuse and believed in the “independence and integrity” of the justice system.
He has also resigned as chair of Parliament’s cross-party APPG for global LGBT+ rights.