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.
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.
CCTV footage showed Amesbury, who has been an MP since 2017, punching Mr Fellows to the ground.
Other videos from another angle show Amesbury punching Mr Fellows repeatedly after knocking him to the floor as members of the public intervened.
It was reported to police at 2.48am on Saturday 26 October.
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 would serve 40% of the 10-week sentence in custody.
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 to his head and a graze on his elbow from the attack.
Amesbury was suspended from the Labour Party two days later, when the 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.
Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury arrives at Chester Magistrates court.
Pic: Reuters
Alison Storey, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s 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.”
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