Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said Runcorn needs a new Labour MP after Mike Amesbury was jailed for beating up a constituent - and will keep his £91,000 MPs salary in prison.
On whether the government is considering changing the law so MPs who receive a prison sentence can no longer serve as an MP, Ms Cooper said: "I think these are matters, obviously, for the parliamentary authorities and processes that is separate from the decisions government make.
She told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast: "Whether it is resigning or through recall, everyone's clear - the people of Runcorn deserve better representation, and that would come by having a newly elected MP.".
The 55-year-old MP will keep receiving his £91,000 salary while in prison because parliamentary rules state a recall petition, which kickstarts a by-election, can only happen once an appeal period for a custodial sentence of a year or less is exhausted.
Amesbury, who has been an MP since 2017, remains as the MP for Runcorn and Helsby after being jailed for 10 weeks on Monday.
