DUP MP: Jim Shannon who urged UK courts to conceal the identity of a convicted sex offender (Image: UK Parliament)
29th April, 2022.
A letter a DUP MP wrote for a Tory MP facing a child sexual assault charge to support his bid to gag the press can be revealed.
Jim Shannon had urged the court to conceal the identity of Imran Ahmad Khan, who was later found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
In his handwritten letter on House of Commons paper, obtained by Belfast Live, he warned that Khan could face a "clear and real threat" due to his Islamic religion.
Mr Shannon raised concerns over "violent extremists" and said he feared for the Wakefield MP "for the unproven allegations that have been made against him".
The Strangford MP has since said he was "unaware" of the charge facing Khan when he wrote the letter, saying he believed it was a bullying complaint.
Imran Ahmed Khan (Image: UK Parliament)
Khan, 48, had denied groping the teenager at a party in Staffordshire in January 2008 but was convicted after a trial. He has since quit as MP and has been expelled from the Conservative Party.
Southwark Crown Court heard he forced the teenager to drink gin, dragged him upstairs and asked him to watch pornography before assaulting him.
The complainant, now 29, said the assault had left him "scared and shocked".
Khan had attempted to have the case heard in secret, with his lawyers arguing that as a serving MP there were concerns about his safety.
The application for anonymity, which was rejected, included a letter from Mr Shannon. The full letter was released to Belfast Live following a request to the court.
Mr Shannon wrote that he has a "deep and sincere interest in freedom of religions and belief" and that Khan had spoken at many Commons debates on behalf of other religions.
He referenced a religiously motivated murder in Scotland, adding: "I do fear for Imran for the unproven allegations that have been made against him.
"The vice of violent extremists and anti-Ahmadiyya hate is real in the world and also in the UK, and I feel that Imran Khan MP would therefore clearly be at risk if his details were published.
"Publish his name and he then becomes potentially the focus of anti-Ahmadi and I certainly don't want him to be that focal point and under a clear and real threat.
"I therefore respectfully ask that Imran Khan MP be given that protection, that his details remain within the control of the court.
"The fear that Imran has is one that I understand and your agreement to this request would be greatly appreciated."
The anonymity application also included statements from former British diplomat and intelligence officer Richard Barrett and former senior RAF officer Afzal Ashraf.
However, a police risk assessment concluded there was "no objective threat" to the defendant's life from being named in the proceedings.
His applications were rejected by Westminster Magistrates Court Chief Magistrate, Paul Goldspring, who said: "Damage to reputation is not a ground for making of an order, open justice is and should remain a cornerstone of democracy and the rule of law."
In a statement earlier this month, Mr Shannon said that when he provided a reference he believed the allegations related to bullying.
The Strangford MP said: "I was unaware of the nature of the allegations. I understood a complaint relating to bullying had been made.
"In good faith, I provided a written statement about the man as I had known him through our work on an all-party group.
"The court has made its decision. My thoughts are with the victim of this horrendous crime. I am shocked and certainly withdraw my reference."
In a statement released by the court from Khan's defence team, they stressed Mr Shannon's statement was not used as a "character testimonial" at trial.
They said: "It was provided to those instructing by Mr Khan and they had no direct dealings with Mr Shannon.
"It may therefore be the case that he did not know what Mr Khan was accused of but this was not a character testimonial and was relied upon as background to the situation involving Ahmadi Muslims."
They said all those who provided character testimonials "were given accurate information regarding the charge Mr Khan faced".
Khan had also tried to have the case heard anonymously on the first day of the trial.
The MP argued that as an Ahmadi Muslim. consuming alcohol and homosexuality are strictly prohibited, and the reporting of those matters would expose him to "a risk to his safety both here and abroad".
A temporary banning order was put in place but was lifted at the end of the second day of the trial.
Khan was found guilty after about five hours of deliberations.
With many thanks to: Belfast Live and Brendan Hughes Politicial reporter for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story and concerning the Conservative by-election defeat in Wakefield: Far-right loyalist living in the North of Ireland Jayda Fransen comes last in Conservative Wakefield-by-election defeat.
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