MP Mike Amesbury to appear in court to face assault charge

MP Mike Amesbury is to appear in court to face an assault charge. Amesbury, of Frodsham, Cheshire, has been summonsed to court to face the charge of section 39 assault.

The 55-year-old is set to appear in magistrates court at a later date. The charge relates to reports of an assault on a 45-year-old man on Main Street, Frodsham, which was reported to police at 2.48am on Saturday, October 26.

The MP represents Runcorn and Helsby in Parliament and was suspended by the Labour Party amid ongoing investigations into the incident. Police previously confirmed a 55-year-old man had been voluntarily interviewed under caution in relation to the alleged incident.

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The Labour Party confirmed on Sunday night that the MP had been suspended “pending an investigation” into the incident. A Labour 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.”

CCTV previously published captured two men standing facing each other before the man, alleged to be Amesbury, punched the other and continued hitting him on the ground. It is not clear from the video what happened in the moments beforehand.

It comes after different footage posted on social media on Saturday appeared to show the MP shouting and pointing his finger at a man lying in the street. He appeared to say: “You won’t ever threaten me again, will you? You won’t ever threaten me again will you."

Amesbury said on Saturday that he will “co-operate with any inquiries”, but was “determined to remain an open and accessible MP for our community” after the initial footage circulated online. He said in a statement: “Last night, I was involved in an incident that took place after I felt threatened on the street following an evening out with friends.

“This morning, I contacted Cheshire Police myself to report what happened during the incident. I will not be making further public comment but will, of course, co-operate with any inquiries if required by Cheshire Police.”