The ex-Labour MP was found guilty in December last year
Fiona Onasanya has been sentenced to three months in jail for perverting the course of justice, becoming the first sitting parliamentarian in nearly three decades to be sent to prison.
Onasanya was found guilty at the Old Bailey in December after colluding with her brother Festus after being caught speeding at 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. Festus was sentenced to ten months in prison for his part in the crime.
During sentencing, Justice Stuart-Smith told Onasanya: “You have not simply let yourself down, you have let down those who look to you for inspiration, your party, your profession and Parliament.”
Onasanya is the first sitting MP to be jailed since Terry Fields received a 60-day sentence in 1991 after failing to pay his poll tax bill.
As her prison sentence is less than a year she will retain her place in the Commons, however, she will sit as an independent having been booted from the Labour party. A by-election will only be triggered if 10 per cent of her constituents sign a petition against her continuing to sit as their MP, or if she chooses to stand down.
Following the sentencing, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Fiona Onasanya has let the voters of Peterborough down.
“When she was found guilty she should have immediately done the decent thing and resigned.
“However today’s sentence gives Fiona one last opportunity to act honourably and resign from parliament. She should do this without delay and not take another penny in salary from the public purse.
“If Fiona does not resign, Labour will support local residents in their efforts to trigger a by-election through a recall petition.”
