By-election set to be triggered as MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigns after conviction

The former Conservative MP had been resisting calls to quit before backing down on Thursday.

14 April 2022

Boris Johnson faces a potentially challenging by-election in Wakefield after the former Tory MP for the constituency resigned after his conviction for sexually assaulting a boy.

Imran Ahmad Khan had been resisting calls to stand down despite the Conservatives expelling him when he was found guilty this week.

But on Thursday the disgraced politician said he would resign, saying it is “intolerable” for voters in the West Yorkshire constituency to have muted representation while he appeals.

He said the move would allow him to “focus entirely on clearing my name”.

Labour had held the seat since the 1930s until Mr Khan’s victory in the 2019 general election, when the Prime Minister led the Conservatives to seize a tranche of former Labour strongholds.

But the resignation sets up a tricky battle for the Tories to retain the seat, as Mr Johnson fights to remain leader after being fined by police for breaching his own coronavirus laws.

Mr Khan won Wakefield by 3,358 over Labour former frontbencher Mary Creagh but the Conservatives will be nervous about maintaining that lead.