Ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury jailed for 10 weeks for punching man in street
by Eleanor Barlow and Pat Hurst PA · ChronicleLiveFormer Labour MP Mike Amesbury was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for assaulting a man during a dispute in the street.
Sitting as an independent for Runcorn and Helsby following his suspension from Labour after his arrest last October, he appeared before Chester Magistrates' Court this Monday.
Amesbury pleaded guilty at a January hearing to the attack on 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Frodsham, Cheshire, on October 26. The court was told that after drinking, Amesbury encountered Mr Fellows at a taxi rank, who then confronted him regarding a bridge closure in the town.
CCTV footage captured Amesbury striking Mr Fellows in the head, causing him to fall, and continuing to punch him multiple times on the ground.
As recorded in the footage, Amesbury is heard telling Mr Fellows: "You won't threaten your MP again will you?"
Following the emergence of the video showing the assault, Amesbury was suspended by the Labour Party and later resigned his membership.
The politician admitted his guilt to the assault earlier this year, with the court considering penalties from community service to imprisonment.
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