(Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmer’s Labour Party suspended a member of Parliament after video footage emerged appearing to show him punching a man.
Mike Amesbury, Labour’s MP for Runcorn and Helsby in Cheshire, northwest England, said he had contacted Cheshire Police himself over the incident, and would cooperate with any inquiries if needed.
“Mike Amesbury MP has been assisting Cheshire Police with their inquiries following an incident on Friday night,” Labour said in a statement. “As these inquiries are now ongoing, the Labour Party has administratively suspended Mr Amesbury’s membership of the Labour Party pending an investigation.”
It is an unwelcome distraction for Starmer ahead of his government’s first budget on Wednesday, a moment he hopes will turn a page on a difficult start for his administration. The suspension follows other controversies including a backlash over political donations and gifts, and internal ructions in his team.
Amesbury has been a Labour MP since 2017 and held various shadow ministerial positions while the party was in opposition. Asked whether the incident might trigger a by-election in Amesbury’s constituency, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden didn’t rule it out.
“Let’s see what the police say,” McFadden said on Sky News on Monday. “The video is very graphic. It’s best that the police do their investigation.”
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