Crispin Blunt says sex offender's conviction is 'miscarriage of justice'

A Conservative MP has described the child sex abuse conviction of the former Wakefield MP as a "serious miscarriage of justice", despite previously withdrawing similar comments.

Crispin Blunt, the MP for Reigate, told the BBC he believes Imran Ahmad Khan did not get a fair trial.

Mr Blunt has previously apologised for defending Khan.

Khan was thrown out of the Conservative Party after a jury delivered its verdict at Southwark Crown Court in April, but has said he will appeal against his conviction.

Mr Blunt told the BBC's Politics South East programme: "I remain confident [Khan] will win his appeal and I will be distressed about our justice system if he doesn't."

He also confirmed he did not attend the whole trial or hear the witness evidence in court.

Khan had denied groping the teenager at a party in Staffordshire in January 2008 but was convicted after a trial.

Southwark Crown Court heard he forced the boy to drink gin, dragged him upstairs and asked him to watch pornography before assaulting him.

In April, Mr Blunt, a friend of Khan, said in his now-deleted statement that he was "appalled and distraught" by the verdict, calling it "an international scandal, with dreadful wider implications for millions of LGBT+ Muslims around the world".

He claimed that the case against Khan had "relied on lazy tropes about LGBT+ people that we might have thought we had put behind us decades ago."

Mr Blunt later said he had decided to retract his statement and insisted: "I do not condone any form of abuse and I strongly believe in the independence and integrity of the justice system."

In his latest interview, Mr Blunt told the BBC he understood why his original statement caused upset but he still sees the verdict as a "serious miscarriage of justice".

He also resigned as chairman of an all-party parliamentary group on LGBT issues, following protests from MPs about his comments.

In a statement the Conservative Party said: "Mr Blunt's views are wholly unacceptable."

You can see the extended interview with Mr Blunt in the full Politics South East programme here.

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