MP Mike Amesbury admits Frodsham street assault
public mediaMP Mike Amesbury has admitted assault after a video showed him knocking a man to the ground in his Cheshire constituency.
Amesbury, representing Runcorn and Helsby, admitted assaulting the 45-year-old at Chester Magistrates’ Court.
He was suspended from the Labor Party after footage emerged of the riot in Frodsham, Cheshire, at 02:45 BST on October 26 last year.
The video, which does not show the aftermath of the altercation, shows Amesbury yelling: “You’re not going to threaten the MPs anymore, okay?”
Alison Storey, prosecuting, told the court that at around 02:00 GMT, the victim, Paul Fellows, was in Frodsham town center and went to a rental car station.
She said he was alone and had been drinking.
Ms Storey said: “Mr Amesbury also arrived at the same taxi rank. He was also alone and he had also been drinking.”
The court heard Mr Fellowes recognized Amesbury and approached him to protest against the town’s bridge closure.
She said CCTV showed contact between them lasting several minutes but without any aggressive behavior or raised voices.
She said: “At one point Mr Fellowes started to walk away but Mr Amesbury re-interposed.”
The court heard Amesbury said “what” several times before yelling.
Ms Storey said Mr Fellowes put his hands in his pockets and turned towards the taxi queue, but when he turned back Amesbury punched him in the head, knocking him to the ground.
She said after he fell, he followed him to the road and began beating him again, at least five times.
Amesbury, now an independent, won his seat at July’s general election with a majority of 14,696 votes.
He has been with the Labor Party since 2017 and served as a shadow minister from 2018 to 2024.
“Shocking”
He was granted bail and will return for sentencing on February 24.
As he left court, he told reporters he was “sincerely sorry” to Mr Fellowes and his family.
Amesbury would need a jail sentence, including a suspended sentence, to bring a recall petition in his constituency of Runcorn and Helsby.
A recall petition needs more than 10% of voters in its constituency to trigger a by-election.
A recall petition would also be triggered if the House of Commons decided to suspend him for 10 days or more. His resignation would also lead to a by-election.
Previously, Prime Minister Keir Starmer Describing the video as “shocking” He said Labor had “moved quickly” to respond.
Following the guilty plea, a party spokesman said: “It is right that Mike Amesbury takes responsibility for his unacceptable behaviour.
“He was rightly suspended by the Labor Party following the announcement of a police investigation.
“As legal proceedings are ongoing, we are unable to comment further.”
