Housing committee member Mike Amesbury MP has pleaded guilty to assault after an attack on a man in Cheshire.
Amesbury, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, admitted assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows at Chester Magistrates’ Court.
He had been suspended from the Labour Party after CCTV footage emerged of the incident, which took place at 02:45 on 26 October last year.
He remains a member of parliament and on the 11-strong housing committee where he sits as an independent.
Alison Storey, prosecuting, told the court that Fellows was in Frodsham town centre and went to a taxi rank alone in the early hours after he had been drinking.
Storey added: “Mr Amesbury arrived at the same taxi rank. He too was alone and he too had been drinking.”
The court heard Fellows recognised Amesbury and approached him to complain about a bridge closure in the town
This led to an altercation where Amesbury, 56, punched Fellows to the ground and followed this up with a barrage of further blows.
Amesbury had previously said he felt “threatened” by Fellows.
District Judge Tanveer Ikram said sentencing guidelines suggest the MP’s punishment spans a “high-level community order or [could] range up to a prison sentence”.
“I am leaving all options open at this stage,” the judge added.
Speaking outside the court, The MP said his actions were “highly regrettable,” adding he was “sincerely sorry” to Fellows and his family.
Amesbury will be sentenced next month. If he is sent to prison or given a suspended sentence, he could lose his seat in the Commons.
A sentence of less than a year, even if it is suspended, would leave him liable to the recall process, which would trigger a by-election if 10% of registered voters in his seat sign a petition calling for it.
A jail term of more than a year would mean he automatically loses his seat.
Amesbury won his seat at the general election in July with a majority of 14,696.
He has served as a Labour MP since 2017 and was a shadow minister between 2018 and 2024. He was previously a local councillor in Manchester.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “It is right that Mike Amesbury has taken responsibility for his unacceptable actions.
“We cannot comment further while legal proceedings are still ongoing.”