Fiona Onasanya: Labour expels MP found guilty of perverting the course of justice over speeding charge

Fiona Onasanya was found to have lied repeatedly to police and will be sentenced later this month

Labour has expelled an MP found guilty of repeatedly lying to police about a driving offence.

The party confirmed it has withdrawn membership from Fiona Onasanya, the Peterborough MP, and called on her to step down.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery said it would wait to see what sentence Onasanya receives before deciding how to proceed.

The MP was found guilty of perverting the course of justice after attempting to avoid a speeding charge and is due to be sentenced later this month.

Under parliamentary rules, she will automatically lose her seat if she receives a prison sentence of a year or more.

If she is given a shorter custodial term, her constituents would be asked if they want her to stand aside. If more than 10 per cent said yes then a by-election would be held.

Mr Lavery said Labour would support any move to force Onasanya to stand aside.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph: “You voted for a Labour Party person. Unfortunately the people of Peterborough were failed. We want a Labour Party MP here who will do the people of Peterborough a great service.”

Confirming her expulsion, he said: “Fiona isn’t a member of the Labour Party – she isn’t a Labour MP.”

And calling on her to step down as an MP, he said: “We would be raring to go for a by-election. We’re up for it.

“The people in Peterborough want a Labour MP – they voted for a Labour MP the last time and I’m absolutely confident from what we have to offer that we would win a by-election in the very near future if one was to be held.”

Onasanya won the marginal seat from the Conservatives at the 2017 election, taking over from Stewart Jackson, who had held it for 12 years.

She was convicted at the Old Bailey last month after being found to have colluded with her brother to claim her former lodger had been driving her car when it was spotted doing 41mph in a 30mph area.

Onasanya has vowed to continue as an MP.

In a local newspaper column, she wrote: “It’s an honour to be your voice for change over an incredibly consequential period of British politics.

“While it has been a successful year fighting back against these injustices, there is still much more to be done, and you can rest assured that I will continue to do so as your representative in the corridors of power.”

In a message to Labour MPs, sent via WhatsApp, she compared herself to Jesus.

She wrote: “In times like these, the natural inclination of believers is to ask God: why?

“I personally do not, because in my experience the answers are usually far above and beyond my reach. What I do know is that I am in good biblical company, along with Joseph, Moses, Daniel and his three Hebrew friends, who were each found guilty by the courts of their day.”