MP Mike Amesbury jailed for 10 weeks for punching constituent in street

MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks after punching a man in the street – and has been kicked out of the Labour Party.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP pleaded guilty in January to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October.

As well as a 10-week jail sentence, Amesbury, 55, must pay £200 compensation to Mr Fellows.

Amesbury had been drinking in the town in his constituency where he lives before arriving at a taxi rank, where Mr Fellows approached him to complain about the closure of the Sutton Weaver swing bridge.

As he was being held back, he told Mr Fellows: “You won’t threaten your MP again, will you?”

The victim suffered a lump on his head and a graze on his elbow in what the Crown Prosecution Service said was a “persistent assault”.

Otherwise, MPs who receive a custodial sentence, even if it is suspended, automatically trigger a recall petition which could result in a by-election if 10% of constituents sign it.

This will have to wait until the appeal period is over.

Labour suspended Amesbury from the party shortly after the incident, so he has been sitting as an independent.

They have said he will not be admitted back in and called for a by-election, saying his constituents “deserved better” after his “completely unacceptable actions”.

Sentencing Amesbury, deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said an immediate custodial sentence was “necessary as a punishment and a deterrent”.

The judge added Amesbury, who has been an MP since 2017, would serve 40% of his sentence in custody and will remain on licence for 12 months after his release.

Amesbury’s lawyer requested the judge return to the court moments after he was taken to the cells by two security guards, as he wanted to make a bail application while they appeal his sentence.

The judge returned to court, sat down, paused briefly and said: “Application refused.”