Miliband urged to order probe into international prosecutor ousted for sex pest claims exposed by Mail on Sunday

By MARK HOOKHAM, ASSISTANT EDITOR (INVESTIGATIONS) and GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER, POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 00:18, 26 July 2026 | Updated: 00:18, 26 July 2026 Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband last night faced calls to order an investigation into the disgraced British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Karim Khan was ousted this weekend from his high-profile position at the ICC over allegations of sexual misconduct. It comes almost two years after The Mail on Sunday exclusively revealed that Khan, 56, had been accused of misconduct involving a female colleague. The complaint was made shortly before Khan requested that Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu be arrested for alleged war crimes in Gaza. It was later disclosed that a lawyer in her 30s who worked with Khan claimed he kissed, groped and had sex with her without her consent over an 11-month period. Earlier this month the woman, who agreed to be identified as Sarah, spoke publicly for the first time about her allegations. In an interview with CNN, she alleged that on one occasion, while on an official visit to Colombia, Khan came into her hotel room and that, as she pretended to be asleep, he 'started to put his hand down my leggings, to grope me, to put his tongue in my ear'. Khan, a father of two who grew up in Yorkshire, has repeatedly denied all the allegations. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband last night faced calls to order an investigation into Karim Khan, the disgraced British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court The woman, who agreed to be identified as Sarah, spoke publicly for the first time about her allegations earlier this month But, in a secret ballot at United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday night, 82 of the court's 125 member states voted to dismiss him. The Foreign Office last night refused to say whether the UK voted against him. A friend of Sarah said last night: 'I don't think it's sunk in yet. The last two years have taken a toll on Sarah and her family. I spoke to a close relative today and Sarah still hasn't slept since the day before the decision.' Dame Priti Patel, the shadow Foreign Secretary, described Sarah's testimony as 'harrowing' and called for the Government to launch its own probe. She told the MoS: 'The ICC has been undermined by its chief prosecutor's appalling conduct and yet the new Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary are silent.  'Sexual misconduct is very serious but we have ministers more interested in posting ridiculous social media content rather than the serious business of governing. 'Ed Miliband must launch an urgent investigation into these allegations and the abuse of power within the ICC and other international institutions.' Last year a second woman came forward and also accused Khan of sexual misconduct.  The woman, referred to by the pseudonym Patricia, also spoke to CNN and described how while an intern in 2009 she was required to work at his house. She alleged that 'without fail every time I was there it was a constant onslaught of him coming on to me, groping me, grabbing me, kissing my face, touching my hair, trying to get me to engage in intimate activity with him'. In a statement, Tayab Ali, the head of Khan's legal team, said that an investigation by the United Nations Office Of Oversight Services had not made 'a single finding of misconduct' against him. He added that Mr Khan 'will challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms'. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are grateful to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Bureau for concluding its investigation and respect their findings. 'The UK expects the highest standards of behaviour from leaders of international organisations, and we have a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment of any kind, and inaction to address it.'