Suspended Labour MP Charged With Assault
A suspended Labour MP has been charged with assault after a video emerged of him appearing to punch a man to the ground.
Mike Amesbury, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, lost the party whip following the alleged incident last month.
He will appear in court at a later date, Cheshire Police said.
The charge relates to an alleged attack on a 45-year-old man on Main Street in Frodsham, Cheshire, at 2.48am on Saturday, October 26.
Cheshire Police said the 55-year-old had been summonsed to court to face a charge of section 39 assault.
Amesbury became an MP at the 2017 general election, and was re-elected in July with a majority of 14,696.
He was a shadow local government minister when Labour was in opposition, but stood down from the role in 2022 to focus on his constituency work.
In the wake of the alleged incident last month, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Mike Amesbury MP has been assisting Cheshire Police with their inquiries following an incident on Friday night.
“As these inquiries are now ongoing, the Labour Party has administratively suspended Mr Amesbury’s membership of the Labour Party pending an investigation.”
If he were convicted, a recall petition would take place in his seat.
If it was supported by at least 10% of eligible voters, a by-election would be held.
In a statement, Amesbury said: “I have today been summonsed to court to face a charge of common assault following an incident in Frodsham last month, which is deeply regrettable.
“I am continuing to co-operate with police, and given this is an ingoing case I cannot comment further.”