A man has accused Imran Ahmad Khan, the disgraced former Conservative MP, of propositioning him when he was 16.
The man, who the Guardian is calling Andrew (not his real name), says he met Ahmad Khan at a birthday party in Suffolk in August 2015. He claims Ahmad Khan, then in his early 40s, offered to give him oral sex and to take him to a hotel room to take cocaine and hire a sex worker.
Andrew came forward with his story after Ahmad Khan’s conviction on Monday for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy after plying him with gin at a party in 2008. Ahmad Khan announced on Thursday that he would resign, triggering a byelection in the Yorkshire seat of Wakefield.
Andrew’s mother, who was also at the party with her partner, told the Guardian that she told Ahmad Khan to stay away from her son after he told her about the oral sex proposition.
The mother’s partner said he too told Ahmad Khan to back off and that it was “inappropriate” to talk to Andrew in that way. Another adult party guest told the Guardian he also admonished Ahmad Khan in a similar vein.
Another person who was working at the event said he remembered being told about the incident in the aftermath and that it was “talk of the party”.
The event took place in marquees and tents in a field in Suffolk. Andrew says he first spotted Ahmad Khan sitting by a campfire looking “off his face”. He claims he asked Ahmad Khan if he was OK, and that Khan said his friends had given him “far too many pills”.
The next day Andrew joined a group of people who were listening to Ahmad Khan tell a story about working as a mediator between the UK government and the Taliban. “He said he’d been shot at and blown up while travelling in a vehicle which was hit by an IED [improvised explosive device] and then he lifted his shirt up to show us some scars,” said Andrew. “He asked me to touch them and I put my finger in one of the divots.”
He claims Ahmad Khan then asked him about his sexuality. Andrew said that he was straight, only for Ahmad Khan to reply that he thought sexuality was “on a spectrum”.
He claims Ahmad Khan later offered to give him “the best blowjob of your life”. The teenager then told his mother what happened, prompting interventions from her and her partner.
Ahmad Khan later complained to Andrew about being “told off”, and asked why he had told his mother. “I told him that he had made me feel uncomfortable and that it was a bit weird. He asked why weird, and I said, well, I’m only 16,” said Andrew. “He replied: ‘that’s OK, you’re legal’.”
Andrew claims Ahmad Khan then asked him if he had ever done “DP” (double penetration). He said no. He alleges Ahmad Khan then said something like “why don’t we hang out and have some fun?” before offering to book them a hotel in Henley, “buy lots of cocaine and a prostitute and ‘fuck all weekend’”.
At the time, Andrew said he felt “really uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to take it. I was only 16.”
Afterwards, he said he made light of it with friends and did not think much about it, until this week when he saw Ahmad Khan had been convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old.
Andrew said: “The story popped up on the BBC app and I saw a picture of him and thought ‘fuck’, it’s him. And Christ, this guy is an MP. He’s the probably the furthest thing away from the sort of person anyone wants to represent them, a paedophile who offers a 16-year-old drugs and tries to get them to shag a prostitute.”
He said he had been motivated to come forward after learning that Ahmad Khan planned to appeal against his conviction, and reading Ahmad Khan’s defence in the trial, when he was trying to explain why he discussed pornography with his 15-year-old victim.
Ahmad Khan’s barrister said he had asked the boy what pornography he watched to find out where his “true sexual proclivities lay”, after the youngster told him he was confused about his sexuality.
“When I read his defence, him saying he was just trying to help the boy come to terms with his sexuality, acting like his intention was to offer support and solace to him, I just thought: that’s the same pattern of behaviour he instigated with me,” said Andrew. “It could quite easily have been me. It would have been very easily me if I wasn’t surrounded by adults.”
Lawyers for Ahmad Khan said on Thursday afternoon that they had advised him not to comment on Andrew’s allegations, “bearing in mind the ongoing criminal proceedings against our client”. Half an hour later, he quit as an MP, saying he would now focus solely on clearing his name.
helen.pidd@theguardian.com
