Fiona Onasanya has become the first sitting MP to be jailed in 28 years after she was sentenced to three months in jail – but she will cling on to her seat for as long as she can because it’s her only source of income.
The Labour MP for Peterborough was found guilty of perverting the court of justice following a retrial in December over the lies she told police to avoid a speeding ticket.
Mr Justice Stuart-Smith jailed the politician for three months at the Old Bailey, keeping open the possibility that she could keep her seat and remain on the parliamentary payroll.
Christine Agnew QC, defending, earlier told the court: “Regardless of the type of sentence imposed, the conviction and sentence will have a disastrous impact on every aspect of her life. She has already been expelled from the Labour party, at the moment she continues to stand as an independent MP and her only reason for that is because it is her only source of income.
“It is likely that after her sentencing hearing today, she will lose her seat as an MP because she will be deselected.”
It is thought Onasanya has earned around £8,900 from her MPs salary since she was convicted last month.
The judge accepted she had acted “totally out of character”, but did not agree her case was exceptional enough to warrant a suspended sentence.
Passing down the punishment, he said: “That is the shortest sentence I’m able to impose.”
But he added Onasanya had made a “disastrous decision” to continue with the lie after learning her brother had entered the name of a Russian former tenant on the form in the hope the trail would “go cold”.
“There cannot be one way for those in positions of power, privilege and responsibility and (another for) those that are not,” he told the court.
Having been previously praised for championing women’s rights as a politician, Onasanya is now the first female MP ever to be sent to prison. Parliamentary rules require the removal of an MP who is jailed for 12 months or more.
But if the sentence is less than that a recall petition can force a by-election if it is signed by more than 10% of the electorate in the Cambridgeshire seat.
It is unclear whether Onasanya intends to continue as an MP while she serves her sentence, but her lawyer told the hearing she accepted her political career was in ruins.
Festus Onasanya, the MP’s brother, was jailed for 10 months after the judge accepted he had likely filled out a form on her behalf, along with a string of similar deceits.
The case drew comparison to that of Chris Huhne – a former Lib Dem Cabinet minister who was jailed for eight months in March 2013 for points swapping in order to avoid a driving ban.
But he resigned from Cabinet before the trial started, while Onasanya remains a sitting MP.
During that retrial, the Old Bailey heard evidence she was texting as well as speeding on the evening of Monday July 24 last year, during the summer recess.
The 35-year-old solicitor was clocked going 41mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Thorney near Peterborough.
The prosecution alleged she went on to collude with her brother Festus to avoid a speeding ticket.
The court was told she was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to fill out, but it was sent back naming the driver as Aleks Antipow, an acquaintance of Festus, who was away visiting his parents in Russia.
Festus, 34, from Cambridge, pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice over speeding, including for the July 24 incident.
The siblings were sentenced at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Stuart-Smith on Tuesday.
In sending her to prison, Fiona Onasanya becomes the first sitting MP since Terry Fields to be jailed.
Fields was sentenced to 60 days in prison for refusing to pay his poll tax bill of £373. He retained his seat in the House of Commons upon his release.
In the wake of the guilty verdict, Onasanya was expelled from the Labour Party and has launched an appeal against her conviction.
Onasanya took the marginal seat from the Tories with a majority of just 607 at the 2017 election just 18 months ago.
By Jack Hardy & Gareth Davies
