The Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has resigned as chair of the LGBTQ+ parliamentary group and withdrawn comments that a fellow MP found guilty of sexual assault was a victim of a “miscarriage of justice”. After an outcry from MPs across the political spectrum, Blunt deleted the tweet defending convicted MP Imran Ahmad Khan and removed the comment from his website after an intervention from Tory whips overnight. In a statement on Tuesday morning, Blunt apologised for defending Khan, who was found to have assaulted a 15-year-old boy after plying him with alcohol. “I am sorry that my defence of him has been a cause of significant upset and concern not least to victims of sexual offences,” he said. “It was not my intention to do this.” He added: “To be clear, I do not condone any form of abuse and strongly believe in the independence and integrity of the justice system.”
A Conservative source said: “Crispin’s views are wholly unacceptable” and said there had been “exchanges late last night” that led to the statement being withdrawn. Blunt, the MP for Reigate since 1997 and chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on LGBTQ+ rights, had said he was certain the Wakefield MP, Imran Ahmad Khan, was innocent and that the trial “was nothing short of an international scandal”. Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy and has been expelled from the party. Labour called for the government to remove the whip from Blunt after the comments. James Heappey, the armed forces minister, told Sky News the comments were “not something the government associates itself with” and defended the jury who convicted Khan. He said: “Every one of us who believes in the judicial system and the rule of law has to respect that judgment.” Asked whether Blunt would have the whip removed, Heappey said that was “for people to look at today as they speak to Crispin, find out what this is all about”. He added: “Absolutely nobody in Her Majesty’s government is seeking to be critical of the decision of the court. If Mr Khan chooses to appeal, that is for him, but a court of law has found him guilty and that is what the government believes him to be therefore.” Blunt’s comments triggered the resignation of three MPs from the APPG that he chaired – the Scottish National party MPs Stewart McDonald and Joanna Cherry, and Labour’s Chris Bryant. Blunt said on Tuesday he would be resigning as chair of the group. “It is a particularly difficult time for LGBT+ rights around the world and my statement risks distracting the APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights from its important purpose I have today offered the officers my resignation so a new chair can be found to continue the work of the group with full force.” Bryant had earlier told Sky News he had called for Blunt’s resignation. “It is completely inappropriate for a member of parliament to start attacking the judicial process like this,’” he said. Blunt’s deleted statement said he had been prepared to testify in Khan’s defence. “I sat through some of the trial. The conduct of this case relied on lazy tropes about LGBT+ people that we might have thought we had put behind us decades ago,” he said. Reporters at the trial said Blunt attended the defence and summing up and did not see prosecution witnesses, including the boy’s parents, who reportedly broke down in tears giving evidence. If Khan is ousted, it will trigger what would be a closely fought byelection in his Wakefield seat, to which he was elected in 2019 as its first Tory MP since 1932.