To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been handed a 10 week prison sentence after he admitted to assaulting a man on the street in Cheshire.
The 55-year-old, who was first elected in 2017, clashed with constituent Paul Fellows while he was out drinking in Frodsham last October. During a hearing at Chester Magistrates’ Court this morning, Prosecutor Alison Storey said the pair were alone at a taxi rank in the town when the incident took place at around 2am on October 26.
She said in footage of the clash, Amesbury and Mr Fellows are seen talking before Amesbury is heard shouting ‘what?’ a few times before punching Mr Fellows in the face. Amesbury then followed him onto the road and punched him a further five times while asking: ‘You won’t threaten your f*cking MP again, will you?’. He then walked away, Ms Storey said.
The MP has denies that he had been aggressive or made any threats before the punch. He previously admitted assault in January. The altercation left Mr Fellows with a lump to his head and a graze to his elbow. It’s not clear if his injuries were a result of him falling on the ground or because of the punch, the prosecutor said.
She added: ‘It is clear there was no aggression from Mr Fellows. He was alone. He didn’t retaliate, even after he was punched to the floor.’. Mitigating, the MP’s lawyer said the assault was ‘extremely regrettable’ and the incident was recorded on CCTV but the preceding conversation was not recorded, which contained something Amesbury took offence to.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said he would be jailed for 10 weeks. The MP for Runcorn and Helsby was suspended from the Labour Party soon after media reports on the incident appeared. He currently sits in Parliament as an independent. A Labour Party spokesperson said: ‘The Labour Party took swift action following Mike Amesbury’s completely unacceptable actions and he is no longer a Labour MP or a member of the Labour Party.
‘It is right that Mr Amesbury pleaded guilty and has now been sentenced. Local residents in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency deserved better and we look forward to them getting the representation they deserve in the future with a new Labour MP.’.
Since 2015, if an MP receives a criminal conviction which leads to a prison sentence then they can be recalled. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, notifies the local returning officer and a recall petition is launched. That petition is open for six weeks, and if 10% of eligible registered voters in the consituency sign it then the seat becomes vacant and a by-election is triggered.
The former MP is free to stand in that election. Since the Recall of MPs Act 2015 came into effect, six recall petitions have been initiated. Ian Paisley, the DUP MP for North Antrim, was suspended in 2018 for breaching the rules on lobbying – but his petition did not reach the required 10% threshold, so he stayed as an MP.
Labour MP Fiona Onasanya, SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, and Conservative MP Peter Bone all decided not to stand in the subsequent by-elections after their recall petitions did hit the threshold. Chris Davies, a Conservative MP who pleaded guilty to two charges of making a false expenses claim and was selected as the Tory candidate in the resulting by-election, but he lost.
Another Tory MP, Scott Benton, faced a recall petition after being suspended for 35 days following a ‘sting’ by the Times. However, he resigned before the petition closed. Amesbury’s sentence leaves him liable to the recall process, which would trigger a by-election if 10% of registered voters in his seat sign a petition calling for it.
Any custodial sentence of less than a year, even it if is suspended, would trigger the recall process, but it will only begin after all appeals have been exhausted. Tory co-chairman Nigel Huddleston said: ‘The residents of Runcorn and Helsby deserve an MP who is able to stand up for them in Parliament. Mike Amesbury should do the right thing and resign.”.
Reform UK party chairman Zia Yusuf also called for Amesbury to quit immediately. He said: ‘The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place.’. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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