Exclusive: UK told Karim Khan it would not back him as ICC prosecutor before removal vote

The UK government told Karim Khan it would not support him as chief prosecutor and declined his request to meet ministers before International Criminal Court member states voted to remove him from his role, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Eighty-two of the court's 125 member states voted in a secret ballot on Friday to dismiss Khan as prosecutor over sexual misconduct claims at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In March, Khan, who has denied all allegations, was cleared of all wrongdoing by a panel of judges appointed by the ICC's governing body, the Assembly of State Parties (ASP) bureau, to review a UN investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The judges concluded unanimously that the UN investigators' findings "do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant framework".

But a group of disproportionately western and European member states of the ASP bureau voted to disregard the judges and re-investigate the case.