Former Tory MP received more than £14k in expenses after being jailed for sexual assault
23 November 2022, 01:21 | Updated: 23 November 2022, 01:28
A former Tory MP has been paid more than £14,000 in expenses since being jailed for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
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Imran Ahmad Khan - the former MP for Wakefield who was convicted and jailed in May - claimed thousands in expenses after he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Khan was under investigation by police for almost the whole time he was an MP, after being elected in December 2019, the Times revealed.
The paper said he was paid £521,753.92 in expenses during his time in the job, which included office costs and travel.
Of that sum, £201,226.91 was paid after he was charged, £15,985.73 after he was convicted, and £14,840.84 after he was jailed.
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Expense data showed he was paid £4,578 on "London accommodation removal" in July, and £4,000 for AGM Bishops Ltd, the owner of Bishop’s Move, in June.
The company's yellow vans are often spotted outside Downing Street, having become the favoured removals firm by Prime Ministers and other high-profile clients such as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Other expense claims paid after Khan was jailed included £1,877.65 to British Gas.
He was also paid £1,885 between April and June to clean his office.
The Conservatives first suspended the whip from Khan after the chief whip was informed of the charges against him.
However, he continued to claim over £3,800 a month in rent until January 2022, on top of rail tickets for family and carers.
MPs who leave parliament are allowed to claim for "winding up" costs for two more months after they leave, it is understood.
The rule is intended to cover costs including staff pay, rent, office costs and removals.
Anneliese Dodds, Labour's party chairwoman, told the paper: "The public will be rightly shocked that someone convicted of such a reprehensible crime could seemingly cash in on his expenses.
"He should pay back this money immediately.
"This speaks to the moral vacuum at the heart of the Conservative Party.
"The party was warned about Imran Ahmad Khan’s behaviour and character, and they parachuted him into Wakefield anyway.
"They must take some responsibility for this sorry mess."
Khan denies any wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction and sentence.
