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A man attacked by former Labour MP Mike Amesbury in a drunken row has said he feared he could have been killed as he spoke out about the politician being freed from prison.
Paul Fellows, 45, was set upon by Amesbury after a disagreement about the closure of a local bridge as they both waited for a taxi at 2am in Frodsham, Cheshire, in October.
CCTV showed Amesbury punch Mr Fellows to the head, knocking him to the ground, then following him onto the road, punching him again at least five times.
Mr Fellows fell back and nearly hit his head on the stone surface of the high street.
Amesbury was heard saying: “You won’t threaten your MP again will you, you f****** soft lad?”
He was jailed for 10 weeks before being freed last week after winning an appeal and instead given a suspended sentence.
Mr Fellows, a father of two, told The Sun on Sunday: “He could’ve killed me and deserves to be in prison.
“Everyone knows one punch can kill. Any adult with an ounce of common sense knows that. As soon as you lay your hand on someone you’re committing an assault.
“The intent was there. And if you punch someone you’ve got to accept the consequences. It could have been far worse.”
He called on Sir Keir Starmer to change the rules to prevent Amesbury from earning his £91,346 annual wage as an independent MP after his conviction.
Mr Fellows added: “If I got jailed I’d be sacked, so why should it be different for anyone else? Once you’re convicted you should just lose your job.”
He also thanked a woman for intervening after claiming Amesbury “rained five or six punches” on the top of his head.
“As these blows have come in, a lady ran over and shouted ‘Stop!’ and he’s walked away. I want to say thank you to that lady because it could have been far worse.”
The former Labour MP, who is an independent after he was suspended by the party over the attack, refused to answer questions about whether he would resign as Runcorn and Helsby MP as he walked free from prison.
Amesbury, 55, said: “I’d like to reiterate that I sincerely apologise once again to Mr Fellows and his family. I’m now going to go and see my family, and go home, and I’ll give a statement at a later stage.”
He returned to Chester Crown Court in a prison van to appeal his sentence on Thursday, wearing handcuffs, after he was dealt an immediate jail term on Monday which saw him spend three nights at HMP Altcourse.
Granting the appeal, honorary recorder of Chester, Judge Steven Everett, sitting with two magistrates, imposed another sentence of 10 weeks’ imprisonment but suspended it for two years.
