MP Mike Amesbury jailed for 10 weeks for punching man in street in 'unprovoked drunken' assault

By Flaminia Luck

MP Mike Amesbury has been sentenced to ten weeks for punching a constituent in the street in Chesire last year.

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The MP, who has been sitting as an independent since he was suspended by Labour following his arrest, was caught on camera punching a constituent near a taxi rank in the village of Frodsham last October.

He pleaded guilty at a hearing in January to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows.

The court heard Amesbury had been drinking before he arrived at the rank, where Mr Fellows approached him to remonstrate 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 55-year-old has been sitting as the independent for Runcorn and Helsby since his arrest - it could lead to a by-election for the constituency.

If 10% of his constituents sign a recall petition it would force a by-election.

However, an MP losing their seat as a result of a recall petition does not stop them from standing in any resulting by-election.

People are disqualified from standing as an MP if they receive a prison sentence of over a year.

'Persistent assault'

Alison Storey, Senior Specialist Prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “This was a persistent assault by Mike Amesbury which continued while the victim was on the floor, offering no aggression.

“The victim was alone and not part of a group and CCTV footage showed that he was not being threatening or aggressive towards Mike Amesbury.

“After the initial punch which knocked the victim to the ground, Mike Amesbury struck the victim at least a further five times while he was on the floor.

“The CPS will always seek to prosecute violent offences in accordance with our legal test regardless of who the perpetrator is.”

'Deterrent'

Sentencing deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said: "In this case an immediate custodial sentence is, in my judgment, necessary as a punishment and a deterrent."

Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury pleads guilty to assault

After passing sentence Richard Derby, representing Amesbury, asked the judge: "Is that an immediate sentence?"

The judge nodded, replied: "Yes," and left the courtroom.

Amesbury was joined in the dock by two security guards to take him down to the cells.

From there he will be taken to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.

Unlike many defendants, he did not appear to have a brought a bag of belongings with him.

But Mr Derby then requested the judge come back into court as he wished to make an application for bail for Amesbury, pending an appeal against his sentence.

Judge Ikram returned to court, sat down, paused briefly and said: "Application refused."

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