MP Mike Amesbury has admitted assault by beating after a video emerged showing him punching a man to the ground in his Cheshire constituency.

Amesbury, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, pleaded guilty to assaulting the 45-year-old at Chester Magistrates’ Court.

He had been suspended from the Labour Party after the footage appeared of the fracas, which occurred in Frodsham, Cheshire, at 02:45 BST on 26 October last year.

The video, which did not show the lead up to the altercation, recorded Amesbury shouting: “You won’t threaten the MP ever again, will you?”

Amesbury, who now sits as an independent MP, won his seat at the general election in July with a majority of 14,696.

He had served under Labour since 2017 and was a shadow minister between 2018 and 2024.

Alison Storey, prosecuting, told the court at about 02:00 GMT victim Paul Fellows was in Frodsham town centre and went to a taxi rank.

He was alone and had been drinking, she said.

Ms Storey said: “Mr Amesbury arrived at the same taxi rank. He too was alone and he too had been drinking.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.