Survivor shudders that Khan let in
A SURVIVOR of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham said she was “disgusted” that an MP later found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy was reportedly on a Home Office panel of sexual exploitation experts, writes Danielle Andrews.
The Guardian reported last Tuesday (26) that Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan attended online meetings with a panel of sexual exploitation experts in July, September and November of 2020.
Staffordshire police said he gave a written statement under caution in May 2020 addressing claims he had assaulted a minor.
Khan, 48, was found guilty in April of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in 2008 before he was elected as the Conservative MP for Wakefield.
A Home Office spokesman said the department was not aware of the allegations against him at the time.
Sammy Woodhouse, who exposed the Rotherham abuse scandal by speaking to The Times in 2013, was also on the panel. She said she was “disgusted” to have been put in such a position.
Woodhouse said: “This was important work I undertook in good faith, but I am disgusted to have been put in a position where I was working with a man later convicted for child sexual assault.
“It is gut-wrenching for me as a survivor that they could possibly have allowed him to be considered for this role.”
Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, Louise Haigh, said: “Khan’s victim told the Conservatives about sickening sexual abuse, and they did nothing, and then shamefully appointed him to sit alongside survivors of child sexual exploitation.”
“How could they possibly have put victims in this position?”
“The Tories have serious questions to answer over how they gave this criminal free reign to exploit his position and victims of abuse.”
The Home Office said neither Priti Patel nor the Home Office were aware of the claims against Khan before they were made public in 2021.
“In his role as an MP, Mr Khan was asked along with several others to peer review a Home Office research paper.
“The Home Office was not aware of the allegations against him at the time and he no longer has any involvement with the department,” said a spokesperson.
Khan was expelled from the Conservative Party following the verdict on April 11.