Crispin Blunt has described the child sex abuse conviction of Imran Ahmad Khan as a “serious miscarriage of justice”, despite previously withdrawing similar comments.

Mr Blunt, Conservative MP for Reigate, told the BBC he believed the outgoing Wakefield MP did not get a fair trial.
Last month Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

Labour is calling for the whip to be removed from Mr Blunt, who previously apologised for defending Khan.
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: “The Conservatives’ claims to be the party of law and order and on the side of victims can never be taken seriously ever again.”

Khan was thrown out of the Conservative Party after a jury delivered its verdict at Southwark Crown Court in April. He has stood down as an MP – a by-election will be held in Wakefield next month – but is appealing against his conviction.

Mr Blunt told the BBC’s Politics South East programme: “I remain confident [Khan] will win his appeal and I will be distressed about our justice system if he doesn’t.”

The Surrey MP confirmed he did not attend the whole trial nor did he hear the witness evidence in court.
Southwark Crown Court heard Khan forced the boy to drink gin, dragged him upstairs and asked him to watch pornography before assaulting him, at a party in Staffordshire in January 2008.

In April, Mr Blunt, a friend of Khan, said in a now-deleted statement that he was “appalled and distraught” by the verdict, calling it “an international scandal, with dreadful wider implications for millions of LGBT+ Muslims around the world”.

He alleged that the case against Khan had “relied on lazy tropes about LGBT+ people that we might have thought we had put behind us decades ago”.

Mr Blunt later said he had decided to retract his statement and insisted: “I do not condone any form of abuse and I strongly believe in the independence and integrity of the justice system.”

In his latest interview, he told the BBC he understood why his original statement had caused dismay, but said he still saw the Khan verdict as a “serious miscarriage of justice”.

Mr Blunt resigned as chairman of an all-party parliamentary group on LGBT issues following protests from MPs about his previous comments. The Conservative Party has described his views as “wholly unacceptable”.

In a statement released on Sunday, Labour’s Mr Reed said the Conservative Party had “ignored complaints” from Khan’s victims, adding that “one of their own MPs has doubled down on his appalling defence of Khan’s criminal behaviour”.
Mr Reed added: “Crispin Blunt should have the whip removed if they have any respect for victims of sexual abuse.”

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Knife crime in Sussex is down by 24% according to the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne.

Figures from her office show a drop which is more than double seen nationally.

Nationally figures are said to be down 10%.

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Crawley’s network rollout has reached another milestone, with the first residents now benefitting from full fibre connectivity.

‘CityFibre’ is investing £23m to bring the fastest and most reliable digital connectivity to the town. Construction work began in 2020 and, once complete, the network will be within reach of almost every home and business in the area.

The network is now completed in parts of Ifield, Gossops Green and Langley Green, with the first customers now live and able to access gigabit-capable internet services. The first two consumer internet service providers (ISPs) to offer services on Crawley’s ‘CityFibre’ network are ‘Zen’ and ‘TalkTalk’.

David Carey, the first resident to sign-up for Zen’s gigabit-speed broadband in Crawley, had registered his interest a few months before ‘CityFibre’ began building near his home in Gossops Green. David works from home and while he does enjoy gaming occasionally, his priority was to make laggy video calls and frozen screens a thing of the past.

David said: “Once the infrastructure was built, and I was able to sign up with Zen, it all went quite smoothly. I selected a date for installation and when the team came to my property, they asked where I wanted the router placed, and were quick, friendly, and professional.

“They did not leave until they made sure everything worked and that the connection was speed tested. The difference in internet speeds from my previous network was immediately noticeable.”

Anne Krausse, Area Manager at ‘CityFibre’, added: “I was so pleased when I heard David was going to be our first customer in Crawley to take advantage of the full fibre benefits. He immediately recognised how transformational a full fibre connection can be.

“People just can’t believe how much faster it is, for both, downloading and uploading, and how reliable the connectivity is. It’s amazing to see the hard work pay off and CityFibre’s infrastructure come to life.”

In Crawley, CityFibre’s network roll out is set to move into areas such as Ifield West, Bewbush and Broadfield. As progress continues local businesses and residents will be kept up to date on plans for each community, highlighting the benefits that access to full fibre will bring to all.

Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/register-now.Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/residential.

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four people have denied causing thousands of pounds worth of damage during climate protests at service stations on the M25.

Supporters of the group, ‘Just Stop Oil’ said 35 of its people blocked fuel stations at Cobham and Clacket Lane services on the 28th of April.

The two males and two females, all aged between 18 and 22, appeared at Guildford Crown Court and pleaded not guilty to criminal damage charges.

A trial date has been set for April next year.

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