Mike Amesbury MP has been jailed for thumping a constituent during an early morning disagreement about a local bridge.
Amesbury, 55, of College Drive, Frodsham, Cheshire, admitted an offence of assault by beating when he appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 16th January 2025.
He was sentenced by DJ Tan Ikram, the Deputy Senior District Judge, at the same court on Monday, 24th February 2025.
Assault by beating, an offence contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, has a maximum sentence of 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction. You can read more about this offence in my earlier article.
Amesbury assaulted constituent Paul Fellows during the early hours of Saturday, 26th October 2024. Mr Fellows approached the MP on Frodsham High Street to discuss the closure of the Sutton Weaver swing bridge. Amesbury clearly wasn't very conversational, deciding instead to punch Mr Fellows several times around his head. The punching continued even though Mr Fellows was knocked down on the ground.
To make matters worse the 55-year-old politician gave some cock and bull story to the newspapers about "feeling threatened" by Mr Fellows.
Footage quickly emerged confirming that Amesbury was the aggressor. The video showed the MP landing the first blow on a very confused Mr Fellows, who was stood passively with his hands in his pockets and head turned away. By all accounts it was a totally unprovoked assault, despite Amesbury's initial pretence to the contrary.
Prosecutor Alison Storey recounted the facts of the case for the benefit of the mass of journalists sitting at the rear of the courtroom.
Getting to the nub of the matter, she said: "It is clear there was no aggression from Mr Fellows. He was alone. He didn't retaliate, even after he was punched to the floor."
Ms Storey also noted that Amesbury had been drinking, which was a statutory aggravating factor.
Richard Derby, mitigating, began by gushing about his client: "I've never represented a person of such exemplary character as I have today, who has provided so much of his life to public service and the service of others."
Turning the incident, he added: "There was something said, clearly by Mr Fellows, that rightly or wrongly Mr Amesbury was concerned by."
Mr Derby added that his client, who has no previous convictions, deeply regrets his actions on that morning. He said Amesbury's behaviour was totally out of character.
DJ Ikram noted that the offence was one of higher culpability and had a starting point of 16 weeks' custody.
Hearing that, an alarmed Mr Derby sprang back to his feet: "There is a real, real fear that if you take that starting point, the ramifications are not just for Mr Amesbury but also for his six members of staff."
The solicitor noted that the MP will now face a Parliamentary investigation into his conduct, so the sentence imposed by the court was only the beginning of repercussions for him.
"The sentences he is carrying emotionally and professionally are lengthy and will stay with him forever," Mr Derby concluded.
Addressing Amesbury, DJ Ikram said: "You were out drunk in the early hours, the attack was unprovoked, being in drink was no excuse and as an MP you can reasonably expect robust challenge from constituents. You continued the attack while the victim was on the ground, this incident may not have come to an end if bystanders didn't intervene."
Amesbury was sentenced to 10 weeks' custody.
He was also ordered to pay £200 in compensation, £154 surcharge and £85 towards prosecution costs.
Amesbury's position as an MP is now utterly untenable. If he had an ounce of decency then he would immediately resign his Parliamentary seat. However, on a monthly salary of £7,500 and as many silly expenses as you can shake a stick at, he might be inclined to ride the gravy train for as long as he can.
Update (27/2/25): Amesbury has now appealed his sentence.
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