Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks after punching a man in the street.
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 must pay £200 compensation to Mr Fellows.
His future as an MP remains under question as his lawyer indicated he will appeal the sentence. 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.
Amesbury, 55, 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.
The court heard how, after punching Mr Fellows in the head with enough force to knock him to the ground, Amesbury punched him a further five times on the ground before members of the public intervened.
As he was being held back by others, 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 from the attack.
Sentencing Amesbury, 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.”
The judge added that Amesbury, who has been an MP since 2017, would serve 40% of his sentence in custody.
Amesbury’s lawyer requested the judge return to the court moments after sentencing 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.”
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Amesbury was suspended from the Labour Party two days after the incident, when CCTV footage was widely distributed, so has been sitting as an independent MP since then.
After pleading guilty, he described the incident as “highly regrettable” and apologised to Mr Fellows and his family outside the court.
Alison Storey, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime division, said Amesbury carried out a “persistent assault” on the victim, who did not react aggressively, was alone and was “not being threatening or aggressive” towards the MP.
“The CPS will always seek to prosecute violent offences in accordance with our legal test regardless of who the perpetrator is,” she added.
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