Mike Amesbury has been called on to step down from the Runcorn and Helsby seat. Mike Amesbury has won an appeal against his 10 week prison sentence for assaulting a constituent. The Runcorn and Helsby MP returned to Chester Crown Court in a prison van, wearing handcuffs, after he was dealt the immediate jail term on Monday which saw him spend three nights at HMP Altcourse.
Honorary Recorder of Chester Judge Steven Everett, sitting with two magistrates, imposed another sentence of 10 weeks’ imprisonment but suspended it for two years. Amesbury has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, undertake a 12-month alcohol monitoring requirement, go on an anger management course and carry out 20 days of rehabilitation work.
His defending lawyer, Daniel Travers, described his three nights in prison as an unforgettable experience and promised: “This is a man who will certainly rehabilitate. He will learn a very painful lesson.”. His prison sentence leaves the 55-year-old politician at risk of being ousted if his constituents back a petition calling for a by-election.
Constituents have expressed their anger about Amesbury’s actions, with one pensioner Reg Jones, 74, telling The Independent: “I absolutely would not welcome him back as an MP.”. Some people even said that 10 weeks wasn’t long enough. Carer Danny Neville, 55, said: “I think it's maybe a little short, but I'm glad he's actually been punished in some way.”.
Earlier this year he pleaded guilty for assault, after he punched 45-year-old Paul Fellows following a row in the street over a bridge closure. The incident occurred in Main Street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of October 26, after Amesbury had been drinking. Upon arriving at a taxi rank, he was approached by Mr Fellows who began to complain about a bridge closure in the town.
Footage showed Amesbury punch Mr Fellows to the head, knocking him to the ground, then follow him onto the road and start to punch him again, at least five times. The court heard Mr Fellows had reported an head injury and headache, as well as a superficial graze to his elbow.
Amesbury said, when arrested, that he had acted in self-defence and suggested he felt “threatened” and “intimidated”, the court heard. Speaking outside court after entering his guilty plea, Amesbury said: “I’m sincerely sorry to Mr Fellows and his family.”.
When he was sentenced at Chester Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Tanveer Ikram said: “In this case an immediate custodial sentence is, in my judgment, necessary as a punishment and a deterrent.”. Mr Derby requested the judge come back into court so he could make an application for bail for Amesbury, pending an appeal against his sentence. Judge Ikram refused the application.
The MP has been sitting as an independent since he was suspended from the Labour Party following his arrest in October last year. It is understood he will not be reinstated to the party. MPs have called on Amesbury to “do the honourable thing” and step down immediately so a by-election can be held.
Critics were outraged when it emerged Amesbury would continue being paid his full £91,000 salary until he ceases to be an MP. This meant he could receive as much as £10,500, as well as his pay accrued during the appeals process. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on the Today Programme: “Everything that has happened is unacceptable here. It is why the Labour Party took action immediately to stop him being a Labour MP and stop him being in the Labour Party.”.
