Who is Fiona Onasanya? Labour MP jailed over speeding case
MP jailed for three months for lying to police after she was caught speeding
DISGRACED Labour MP Fiona Onasanya has been jailed for three months for lying to police after she was caught speeding.
The politician was found guilty of perverting the course of justice by claiming someone else was driving her car. Here’s what we know.
Who is Fiona Onasanya?
Fiona Onasanya is the MP for Peterborough.
The 35-year-old narrowly won the seat for Labour in the 2017 general election from her Conservative rival Stewart Jackson with a majority of just 607.
Onasanya also serves as a Labour Party Whip.
She is of Nigerian descent and previously worked as a solicitor before entering politics.
Before becoming an MP, she was a County Councillor and Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on Cambridge council.
She is a member of the political group Christians on the Left.
Why was she charged and when did she appear in court?
The Peterborough MP was charged with perverting the course of justice at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 12, 2018.
Prosecutors say she had collaborated with her younger brother Festus to avoid penalty points for speeding.
She pleaded not guilty and her brother also denied two further counts of perverting the course of justice after allegedly misleading the police as they tried to work out who was driving.
The initial trial started at the Old Bailey on November 12 before she was found guilty at a retrial in December.
The court heard evidence the MP was texting as well as speeding on the evening of Monday, July 24, 2018, during the summer recess.
She was clocked going 41mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Thorney near Peterborough.
The prosecution alleged she went on to collude with her brother Festus to avoid a speeding ticket.
The court was told she was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to fill out, but it was sent back naming the driver as Aleks Antipow, an acquaintance of Festus, who was away visiting his parents in Russia.
Singer Festus, 34, from Cambridge, pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice over speeding, including for the July 24 incident.
On January 29, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith jailed the MP for three months and sentenced her brother to 10 months in prison.
What happens now?
In the wake of the guilty verdict, Onasanya was expelled from the Labour Party and has launched an appeal against her conviction.
Onasanya took the marginal seat from the Tories with a majority of just 607 at the 2017 election just 18 months ago.
Parliamentary rules require the removal of an MP who is jailed for 12 months or more.
But with a lesser sentence, a recall petition can force a by-election if it is signed by more than 10% of the electorate in the Cambridgeshire seat.
Miss Onasanya, who is appealing against her conviction, made no reaction when she was sent down.
Afterwards, a Labour Party spokesman said she had "let the voters of Peterborough down" and should have done the "decent thing" and resigned when she was convicted.
The spokesman said: "However, today's sentence gives Fiona one last opportunity to act honourably and resign from Parliament.
"She should do this without delay and not take another penny in salary from the public purse.
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"If Fiona does not resign, Labour will support local residents in their efforts to trigger a by-election through a recall petition.
"Labour will fight any by-election vigorously. The people of Peterborough voted for a Labour MP, and that is what they deserve.
"That's why Labour will now begin the process of selecting a candidate for the inevitable by-election - someone who will serve in the interests of the people of Peterborough."
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