MP ON TRIAL: Alleged victim told police "I can't bury this anymore"

Tapes of the man's police interview were played to Southwark Crown Court this morning on day two of the trial of Imran Ahmad Khan, who faces an historic sex assault charge.

The man, who was 15 at the time, says Khan groped him as he laid in his bunk bed after a house party in Staffordshire in January 2008.

The police were called in the hours after the alleged incident, but the boy insisted the matter was not taken further because he was embarrassed.

It was only after he saw Khan was running for election in 2019 for the Conservative Party in Wakefield, that he decided to contact the police again.

During the interview that followed, he said: "We never spoke about it as a family ever. I did not want to talk about it."

Asked about his motivation for coming forward again 11 years after the alleged incident, he said: "I could not bury this anymore. It came back (after seeing he was running for the election) and I have to deal with it or it will be with me for the rest of my life.

"It's not about what he is doing now, it's about what he has done.

"I would not be able to live with myself in 20 years time if it was still there.

"It had come back into my life and I need to sort it.

"I want this person to be convicted for the wrong he has done, so it can't happen to anyone else."

He was also quizzed about whether his motive was political, which he denied.

He said: "I do not agree with some of the Conservative's policies, but it's not about that. He could have been running for Labour or the Green Party.

"It's (about) right or wrong.

"It's always been something in the back of my mind that I have not addressed."

The alleged victim said he purposely did not come forward during the election because he did not want to affect the result.

Khan has been accused of touching the male, who was 15 at the time, after the youngster had climbed into the top bed of a bunk and turned the lights out.

Khan denies that any sexual contact took place at all.

His trial is expected to last around two weeks.

The trial continues.