'I should've walked away from punch row' - Amesbury

Mike Amesbury has resigned as MP and admitted he "should have walked away" from the punch confrontation that saw him receive a suspended jail sentence for assault.

In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the former Labour MP said he was standing down "with a heavy heart" but it was the "honourable course of action".

Amesbury was handed a 10-week prison term after punching a constituent in Frodsham, Cheshire, which was reduced to a suspended sentence after an appeal.

He had announced last week that he would "step aside at the earliest opportunity".

In his letter to Reeves, he said he had "endeavoured to give a voice to the voiceless" during his time in Parliament.

But he acknowledged his time as an MP "has been curtailed by a mistake for which I have taken full responsibility."

Speaking to GB news earlier, Amesbury said he was "sad" and "devastated", adding: "Not only for me, but my staff as well, because, course, it goes beyond me, for my family. This is a result of something that I did on October 26."

Asked about the incident, which was captured on CCTV and widely shared online, Mr Amesbury said "I should have walked away" and "I don't recognise myself".

He added: "But it is me, and it's very important that I've owned that through the legal process. A plea of guilty.

"I've paid a price, I've been punished and rightfully so, and I hope that I learn from this."

He won his seat last year with a majority of 14,696 over Reform UK, and his resignation will be a first by-election test for Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party.

Amesbury pleaded guilty in January to assaulting constituent Paul Fellows, 45, after a row in the early hours of 26 October.

Footage showed the MP punching Mr Fellows to the head, knocking him to the ground, then following him on to the road and starting to punch him again, at least five times.

Mr Amesbury spent three nights in HMP Altcourse before his 10-week sentence was suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, undertake a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement, go on an anger management course and complete 20 days of rehabilitation work.

The former Labour MP has been sitting as an independent for the Cheshire seat since he was suspended by the party after his arrest last year. He subsequently resigned his membership.

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