Mike Amesbury, a 55-year-old British MEP, has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for assaulting a constituent during a drunken altercation last year, according to AP News.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of October 26 in Frodsham, a small town in northwest England, led to Amesbury’s suspension from the ruling Labour Party.
Amesbury pleaded guilty to assaulting Paul Fellows, a 45-year-old man, in Chester Magistrates’ Court.
According to prosecutors, the altercation began when Fellows approached Amesbury at a taxi stand and complained about a local bridge closure. Amesbury, who had attended a meeting on policing and community safety earlier in the evening, reacted violently after both men had been drinking.
Surveillance footage captured Amesbury punching Fellows in the face, knocking him into the street. He then stood over Fellows and struck him at least five more times before bystanders intervened.
Judge’s ruling
Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram emphasised the seriousness of the incident, noting that while Fellows sustained only minor injuries, such unprovoked violence could have had fatal consequences.
Unprovoked drunken behavior in the early hours in the streets is too serious to be dealt with by unpaid hours of work, let alone a community order. It is only good fortune that the victim falling onto the road suffered only minor injuries and that you were stopped from going further by members of the public.
Amesbury, who represents the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby, now faces calls to resign from opposition parties. Under UK law, he could be ousted from office and trigger a special election if 10% of his constituents sign a recall petition.
Defence lawyer Richard Derby argued that the incident was out of character for Amesbury and that the damage to his reputation was punishment enough. However, the judge dismissed the appeal, and Amesbury was led away by court guards to begin his sentence.
Amesbury’s imprisonment marks a rare instance of a sitting MP being jailed. The last such case was Fiona Onasanya’s imprisonment in 2019. The incident has sparked renewed debate about the conduct of public officials and the consequences of their actions, both legally and politically.
