CHESTER, England (Reuters) -A British lawmaker pleaded guilty on Thursday to common assault after he punched a passerby who he said had been threatening him while he was enjoying a night out.
Mike Amesbury was suspended from the governing Labour Party after CCTV and video footage showed him throwing a punch at a man in October, and repeatedly hitting him after the man was knocked to the ground.
After the incident, Amesbury, the member of parliament for Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England, said he felt threatened on the street after an evening out with friends.
Amesbury, 55, appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to a single count of common assault.
Prosecutor Alison Storey said Amesbury assaulted the man at around 2 a.m. on Oct. 26 last year, after a discussion about the closure of a local bridge.
Amesbury punched the man and knocked him to the floor, before punching him at least five times when he was on the ground, Storey added. He then told his victim: “You won’t threaten your MP again, will you?”
Amesbury’s lawyer Richard Derby said the incident was regrettable and that Amesbury had previously faced threats as a lawmaker.
Judge Tan Ikram said he would sentence Amesbury at the same court on Feb. 24, adding: “I’m leaving all options open.”
Lawmakers convicted of an offence can potentially be removed from office if enough constituents support a petition calling for a new election for their parliamentary seat.
Amesbury won the seat of Runcorn and Helsby with a majority of more than 14,000 votes in July. He has been an MP since 2017.
As he left the court, Amesbury said he was “sincerely sorry”.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “It is right that Mike Amesbury has taken responsibility for his unacceptable actions.”
(Reporting by Sam Tobin in London; Editing by Catarina Demony, Michael Holden and Hugh Lawson and Bernadette Baum)
