Member of Parliament pleads guilty to assault by beating

BBC ^ | Jan 16 | BBC

[RandFan]

MP Mike Amesbury has admitted assault by beating after a video emerged showing him punching a man to the ground in his Cheshire constituency.

Amesbury, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, pleaded guilty to assaulting the 45-year-old Paul Fellows at Chester Magistrates' Court.

He had been suspended from the Labour Party after the footage appeared of the fracas, which occurred in Frodsham, Cheshire, at 02:45 GMT on 26 October last year.

The video, which did not show the lead up to the altercation, recorded Amesbury shouting: "You won't threaten the MP ever again, will you?"

Alison Storey, prosecuting, told the court how, at about 02:00, Mr Fellows was in Frodsham town centre and went to a taxi rank.

He was alone and had been drinking, she said.

Ms Storey said: "Mr Amesbury arrived at the same taxi rank. He too was alone and he too had been drinking."

The court heard Mr Fellows recognised Amesbury and approached him to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.

She said CCTV showed an engagement between them over a period of several minutes, but with no aggression or raised voices.

[RandFan]

This could trigger a recall depending on the sentence even if he gets a suspended sentence

Reform were runners up in his district last time.

[struggle]

A former Labour partier