Housing committee member Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks after admitting to punching a man in his Cheshire constituency — and has been kicked out of the Labour Party.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP pleaded guilty in January to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, at 02:45 on 26 October.
A request for Amesbury, 55, to be granted bail pending an appeal was denied at Chester Magistrates’ Court. He was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation to Mr Fellows.
Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said an immediate custodial sentence was “necessary as a punishment and a deterrent”.
Mr Fellows suffered a lump on his head and a graze on his elbow in what the Crown Prosecution Service said was a “persistent assault”.
Amesbury was taken to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.
Labour, who suspended Mr Amesbury shortly after the incident, said he would not be admitted back into the party and called for a by-election, adding that his constituents “deserved better” after his “completely unacceptable actions”.
Mr Amesbury remains a member of parliament and is on the 11-strong housing committee where he sits as an independent.
His immediate future in the Commons remains under question as his lawyer indicated he will appeal the sentence.
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.
This process cannot begin until his period of appeal is over.
Amesbury won his seat at the general election in July with a majority of 14,696.
He has served as a Labour MP since 2017 and was a shadow minister between 2018 and 2024. He was previously a local councillor in Manchester.
In October, Mr Amesbury had been drinking in Frodsham in his constituency where he lives before arriving at a taxi rank, where Mr Fellows, who also had been drinking, approached him to complain about the closure of the Sutton Weaver swing bridge.
The court heard how, after knocking Mr Fellows to the ground, the MP punched him a further five times while down before members of the public intervened.
The judge said that Mr Amesbury would serve 40% of his sentence in custody and will remain on licence for 12 months after his release.
