Dad battered by MP says 'he could've killed me and should be in prison'

A dad punched by disgraced MP Mike Amesbury claims he could have been killed and believes the politician should be in prison.

Paul Fellows, 45, was assaulted by Amesbury while stood in a taxi queue back in October. The dad fell backward into the road and narrowly avoided banging his head. Amesbury, a former Labour Party MP until his suspension, was jailed for 10 weeks on Monday before being given a suspended sentenced on Thursday following an appeal.

Amesbury hit out after Paul asked him about the planned closure of a local bridge that he was concerned would lead to increased traffic. "He could've killed me and deserves to be in prison," Paul told The Sun. "Everyone knows one punch can kill. Any adult with an ounce of common sense knows that. As soon as you lay your hand on someone you’re committing an assault. The intent was there. And if you punch someone you’ve got to accept the consequences. It could have been far worse."

Paul has since urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ban MPs from their jobs if they are convicted and sent to prison. He added: "If I got jailed, I'd be sacked, so why should it be different for anyone else? Once you're convicted you should just lose your job." Amesbury, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, now sits as an independent after being expelled by Labour. He spent three nights in HMP Altcourse, in Liverpool, before his sentence was suspended.

Paul said he had been out for drinks in Manchester before travelling to Frodsham to visit a couple of pubs when he bumped into the disgraced MP. He said he asked Amesbury what was happening with the bridge, to which Amesbury replied 'I'm your MP, who do you think you're speaking to?'.

Paul said he responded by saying that Amesbury was his MP and that was exactly why he was speaking to him. He said he "could tell" the MP had "had a few" drinks and that he struggled to understand him. He described Amesbury as "angry", saying that he asked about the bridge as it had been discussed at work so it was on his mind.

But he said Amesbury "started rambling on about being an MP". He told the Sun: "The most I’ve said is ‘I’ve asked you a question’. Next thing he’s punched me, a left hook in the face. I had my hands in my pockets and walked away because I couldn’t be bothered with it. He walked away and then he’s come back. It seemed to escalate out of nowhere."

He recalled coming off the kerb and hitting the parking bay before being "hit continuously". He claimed the MP "rained five or six punches" on the top of his head as well as "kicking [him] in the abdomen". Paul said he was shocked and said there was "no provocation" on his part.

He described the incident as "totally out of the blue" saying he had no chance to defend himself beyond putting his arms up to shield himself as he was lying on the floor. He explained that a woman came rushing over, shouting 'stop', prompting the MP to walk away, adding: "I want to say thank you to that lady because it could have been far worse."

Paul called 999 after the incident, but by the time police arrived Amesbury had left. At 9am Amesbury reported the incident to police himself, claiming he had acted in self defence. Two detectives visited Paul at around midday and took a statement. Two days later, Paul attended an NHS walk-in centre after suffering severe headaches, doctors could not find anything but he was given a CT scan later as a precaution to check he had not suffered any bleeding on the brain.

On November 7 Amesbury was charged with common assault. He pleaded guilty on January 16. As he left court, Amesbury, who has been an MP for eight years and a Labour member since he was 17, described his behaviour as “highly regrettable”, adding “I’m sincerely sorry to Mr Fellows”.

But Paul said he believed he only apologised for the media, saying he has not had any "personal apology" in writing or through Amesbury trying to contact him - despite the pair having previously socialised as part of a parental group as their kids attended the same school.

Amesbury was initially sentenced to ten weeks’ prison and ordered to pay £200 in compensation, with costs of £85 and victim surcharge of £154. Sentencing, Judge Tan Ikram said: “This was an unprovoked attack. I have seen a single punch to the head cause fatal injury in previous cases that I have dealt with."

Amesbury appealed and Judge Steven Everett agreed on Thursday to suspend his jail term. Amesbury was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, undertake a 12-month alcohol- monitoring requirement, complete an anger management course and carry out 20 days of rehabilitation.