“She was suspended from the Labour party and she was expected to resign. She hasn’t resigned, regrettably”
Labour has confirmed that it has booted Fiona Onasanya out of the party after she was convicted of perverting the course of justice for lying to police to avoid a speeding charge.
The MP for Peterborough was suspended last month after being found guilty at the Old Bailey and has now been thrown out of the Labour party after refusing to step down and trigger a by-election.
Labour chairman Ian Lavery told the Peterborough Telegraph: “Fiona isn’t a member of the Labour party, she isn’t a Labour MP. People here in Peterborough voted for a Labour MP.
“She was suspended from the Labour party and she was expected to resign. She hasn’t resigned, regrettably.
“We would still at this very last moment suggest the best thing would be for Fiona to act responsibly and resign her position as a member of parliament.”
Onasanya was convicted at a retrial of colluding with her brother Festus after being caught speeding a 41mph in a 30mph zone in July 2017. When she was sent a notice of intended prosecution, the guilty driver was named as Aleks Antipow, an acquaintance of her brother who was away visiting his parents in Russia at the time of the offence.
After pleading guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice, she is now awaiting sentences and faces possible prison time for her crime. If convicted for more than 12 months she will automatically be forced to stand down as a member of parliament.
Otherwise, 10 per cent of her constituents would need to sign a petition to force a vote of no confidence in the marginal seat, which was taken by a majority of 607 from the Conservative Stewart Jackson at the 2017 election.
