James Saunders
Guest Reporter
Under-fire Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been suspended from the party and has had the whip withdrawn after fresh footage emerged of his altercation with a constituent.
In footage unearthed by the Mail, Amesbury was seen apparently landing a sucker-punch on a man before beating him six times.
Practically seconds before Labour's announcement, Reform UK, which came second in Amesbury's seat in July, called on Amesbury to resign.
A Reform UK spokesman said: "The new footage of Mike Amesbury MP is damning.
"No matter what verbal exchanges happened before, it's never acceptable for anyone to resort to violence to solve a dispute, let alone a sitting Member of Parliament.
"It's quite clear that the people of Runcorn & Helsby deserve far better than this.
"Reform UK are today calling for Mike Amesbury to do the honourable thing and resign immediately so a by-election can be held."
Then, a Labour spokesman said: "Mike Amesbury MP has been assisting Cheshire Police with their inquiries following an incident on Friday night.
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"As these inquiries are now ongoing, the Labour Party has administratively suspended Amesbury's membership of the Labour Party pending an investigation."
A Cheshire Police statement on the incident - before the Mail's footage came to light - reads: "At 02.48am on Saturday, October 26, 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."
Police have clarified that "a 55-year-old man has been voluntarily interviewed under caution by police in relation to this incident" and "has since been released pending further enquiries".
Posting on his own Facebook page on Saturday, Amesbury wrote: "Last night I was involved in an incident that took place after I felt threatened following an evening out with friends.
"This morning I contacted Cheshire Police myself to report what happened.
"I will not be making any further public comment but will of course cooperate with any inquiries if required by Cheshire Police."
At this summer's election, Amesbury won Runcorn & Helsby by a wide margin, bringing in some 22,358 votes.
And while Reform's Jason Moorcroft came second with 7,662, a staggering popularity tumble for Labour and its leader Sir Keir Starmer in the months since could prove momentous in any potential by-election.
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