Mike Amesbury was suspended from membership of the ruling Labor Party in Great Britain after punching a passer-by. The MP claims that he was threatened.
The suspension of 55-year-old Mike Amesbury as a member of the parliamentary club and the party was announced on Sunday. This is related to a recording showing him punching a man in the street on the night from Friday to Saturday, and while he was on the ground, he punched him six more times.
The incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, took place in the town of Frodsham in the North West England at 2:15 a.m. from Friday to Saturday.
An MP from the ruling Labor Party claims that the man he punched threatened him.
There is a recording
First, on Saturday, a video appeared showing Mike Amesbury pointing his finger at a man lying on the pavement and shouting at him: “Yes, I am (an MP), yes, I am, and you will never threaten an MP again , True?”.
Amesbury said in a statement that he felt “unsafe in the street after a night out with friends” and “he contacted Cheshire Police himself to report what happened during this incident.” But late on Sunday afternoon, “The Mail on Sunday” posted on its website a street surveillance video that sheds a completely different light on the incident. It shows Amesbury having a violent argument with a man standing in the street, then unexpectedly punching him in the face, and when he falls, punching him six more times. He is stopped from inflicting further blows by three random people who intervene.
After the video emerged, the Labor Party announced Amesbury's suspension.
A Labor Party spokesman said Amesbury, MP for Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England, was assisting police with the investigation. “As the investigation is ongoing, the Labor Party has administratively suspended Mr Amesbury's membership until the investigation is concluded,” a spokesman said.
Amesbury, 55, has been an MP since 2017. From 2020 to May 2024, he held various positions in the Labor Party's shadow cabinet before it took power in July after winning the election.
Main photo source: facebook.com/MikeAmesburyMP