A man who harassed Bradford West MP Naz Shah (pictured above) while she was campaigning during the general election has been sentenced.
Nahid Khan, 46, of Canford Grove, Allerton, was charged with using threatening/abusive/ insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm/distress on June 12, on Canford Drive.
He pleaded guilty to the offence on December 3rd and was sentenced at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates\’ Court on January 16th.
Khan received a sentence of 12 weeks\’ imprisonment, with the sentence suspended for 12 months.
In outlining the reasons for the prison sentence, court documents state the offence involved \”threats which intimidated and caused the MP to abandon the campaigning\”.
The court documents say the incident was recorded and put on WhatsApp \”which had a profound impact\”.
However, the sentence could be suspended as it was an \”isolated offence, which is unlikely to happen again\”.
The court documents state there is a \”real prospect of rehabilitation\”.
Khan must complete 200 hours of unpaid jobs\” target=\”_blank\”>work and pay £300 compensation.
A restraining order bans Khan from contacting, or attempting to contact, the MP by any means and also bans him from attending her constituency office.
This order lasts until January 15, 2030.
Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus after Khan\’s sentence, the MP said: \”The behaviour of Nahid Khan during the summer election was disgraceful and I welcome this sentence from the courts.”
She added: \”During an election, not only do people have the right to campaign for alternative candidates or views, people also have the right to make that choice at the ballot box.
\”The use of intimidation, hate and harassment has no place in a healthy democracy that allows avenues of debate, discussion and differences.
\”No candidate or political canvassers should face such kinds of violent hostility when simply taking part in democracy. I would like to thank the police and the CPS for their work in this case.
\”Allowing such violent intimidation to persist undermines the very foundations of democracy by deterring political participation and choice. When people are too fearful to engage or take part, the essence of democratic principles is eroded.\”
The MP held onto her seat by just over 700 votes in the July 2024 general election.
But in her victory speech, she touched on how the election had been difficult.
Speaking after being re-elected, she thanked police, who she said had \”kept people safe during what has been a very toxic election\”.
