Footage has emerged of a Labour MP punching a man to the ground and then hitting him several more times.
A video published by the Mail shows Mike Amesbury, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, hitting the man in the face and knocking him to the floor, before standing over him and aiming six more blows at his head.
The security camera footage also shows Amesbury shouting: “You won’t threaten me again, will you?”
Amesbury said in a statement on Saturday night: “Last night I was involved in an incident that took place after I felt threatened on the street following an evening with friends. This morning I contacted Cheshire police myself to report what happened during this incident.
“I will not be making further comment but will, of course, cooperate with any inquiries if required by Cheshire police.”
After an initial video showing the aftermath of the altercation was published on Saturday night, a Labour spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident that took place last night. We understand that Mike Amesbury MP approached Cheshire police to report what happened this morning himself and that he will cooperate with any inquiries they have.”
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, refused to say on Sunday whether Amesbury would have the whip suspended while police investigated.
“Mike Amesbury is cooperating fully with the police,” she said. “He’s gone forward himself to the police, and it is right that the police now look into this matter, investigate and decide what action, if any, is required.”
Officials did not respond on Sunday after footage emerged of the incident.
Cheshire constabulary said in a statement: “At 2.48am on Saturday 26 October, police were called to reports of an assault in Frodsham. A caller reported he had been assaulted by a man in Main Street. Enquiries are ongoing.”
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The footage shows Amesbury talking to the man at 2.15am in the Cheshire town of Frodsham. Shortly after the man looks away, Amesbury punches him with enough force to knock him to the ground, before standing over him and hitting him repeatedly as a third man tries to prise him away.
Amesbury was a shadow minister in the housing department before the election but was not given a government job after the party came to power. He won his seat with a majority of nearly 15,000 ahead of the second-placed party, Reform UK.
