Imran Ahmad Khan formally quits as Wakefield MP after sex assault conviction

Former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan has formally given up his seat in Parliament after being convicted of sexually assaulting a boy.

Khan, who was the first Conservative elected to represent Wakefield in more than 80 years in 2019, announced his intention to resign on April 14 – three days after being found guilty.

But he did not complete the formalities until last week, meaning he received the full month's portion of his £82,000-a-year taxpayer-funded salary.

Under an antiquated parliamentary process, Khan has now been appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern by Chancellor Rishi Sunak – one of the formal mechanisms for an MP to quit the Commons.

It means a by-election can take place.

Khan, 48, was found guilty on 11 April of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old at a party in 2008 and is awaiting sentencing.

He insisted he would appeal the conviction but announced his resignation, conceding it would be it "intolerable" for voters for him to continue.

There were suggestions that a proper process needed to be followed before he could resign.

However, parliamentary officials stressed that an MP can resign at any moment and pointed towards the case of Owen Paterson.

Khan's departure will set up a challenging by-election for both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Wakefield was one of the traditional Labour heartlands seats seized by the Tories in the 2019 general election.

Mr Johnson will battle to retain the constituency after facing months of bruising allegations centring on Covid law-breaking parties in Downing Street and after he was personally fined.

But Sir Keir will feel pressure to win back the seat that had been Labour since the 1930s as he tries to prove to voters the party has transformed since he took over from Jeremy Corbyn.