British MP Mike Amesbury jailed 10 weeks over street assault
Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail for assaulting a man in the street, after a confrontation over a local infrastructure issue turned violent.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP, 55, pleaded guilty in January to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October.
CCTV footage captured Amesbury, who has served as an MP since 2017, punching Mr Fellows to the ground at a taxi rank after a heated exchange about the closure of the Sutton Weaver swing bridge.
Additional video showed Amesbury striking Mr Fellows at least five more times while he was on the floor, as bystanders rushed to intervene.
According to SkyNews, sentencing him on Monday, 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.”
Amesbury is expected to serve 40 per cent of his 10-week sentence behind bars.
The court heard that after the assault, Amesbury was restrained by others and was heard telling Mr Fellows: “You won’t threaten your MP again, will you?”
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The victim sustained a head lump and an elbow graze from the attack.
Amesbury was suspended from the Labour Party two days after the incident, when the footage circulated widely, and has since been sitting as an independent MP.
Outside court, he called the incident “highly regrettable” and apologized to Mr Fellows and his family.
Alison Storey, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime division, condemned the attack, stating: “This was a persistent assault by Mike Amesbury which continued while the victim was on the floor, offering no aggression.”
She added: “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.”
Amesbury has also been ordered to pay £200 in compensation to Mr Fellows.
