That brings our coverage of Mike Amesbury's sentencing hearing to an end.

Many thanks for joining us.

You can read a full account of proceedings here.

Before we wrap up our coverage of Runcorn & Helsby MP Mike Amesbury's sentencing, here is a quick recap:

• The 55-year-old has been jailed for 10 weeks for punching a constituent in Frodsham, Cheshire, in October
• A request for Amesbury to be granted bail pending an appeal was denied at Chester Magistrates' Court
• Passing sentence, the magistrate said the MP's actions were "too serious" for a community sentence, and an immediate jail sentence was necessary.
• Amesbury's conviction means a recall petition could be called to unseat him
• The Labour Party said the constituency "deserved a better MP" while Reform called for Amesbury to resign to allow a by-election to take place.

Image source, EPA

After being escorted from court, Mike Amesbury was loaded into a van bound for Category B jail HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.

Amesbury’s custodial sentence means a recall petition has been automatically triggered.

It is a process that would allow voters in Runcorn and Helsby to unseat the MP.

"A petition is open for six weeks, and if at least 10% of voters in the constituency sign it, the MP loses their seat and a by-election is triggered,” said Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators.

"However, a recall petition only opens when the Speaker of the House of Commons notifies a petition officer. This would not be expected until after the appeal period, and when any appeals have been heard,” he said.

Mr Stanon, whose association has called for recall petitions to be abolished and replaced with automatic disqualification, added: "We also believe that if petitions remain in place, they should end as soon as the threshold of 10% of registered electors signing is reached, rather than remaining open for six weeks."

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said he had considered the current pressure on prison populations while deciding whether to jail Amesbury.

In 2023, the Court of Appeal said the size of the adult male prison population could be taken into account by a judge when deciding whether to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

So this was something the magistrate was bearing in mind when he was weighing everything up.

In the end, though, Mr Ikram felt he had no choice but to send Amesbury straight to jail.

He decided that the aggravating factors including the lack of provocation and the level of Amesbury’s aggression meant that only an immediate prison sentence was a serious enough “punishment” and “deterrent.”

The Conservative MP for Tatton Esther McVey has said Amesbury must "do the decent thing and resign his seat with immediate effect".

In a post on X she said: "You can’t have Members of Parliament languishing in prison."

Erica Witherington
Reporting from Chester Magistrates' Court

Before the MP's sentence was passed, the deputy chief magistrate mentioned something we had not heard before — that Amesbury and his victim, Paul Fellows, knew each other at school.

Both had been drinking that night. Whether Mr Fellows, 45, recognised Amesbury from school we do not know, but the judge felt it was pertinent enough to mention.

It was Mr Fellows who approached Amesbury to start a discussion about a bridge closure. In Amesbury’s defence, his lawyer said Amesbury had not wanted to “engage”.

At the time, Amesbury himself told the police he had felt threatened.

But this was all captured on CCTV, and the magistrate was certain that not only was Amesbury’s aggression “unprovoked”, but that as an MP, he could “reasonably expect challenge from a member of the public.”

He concluded that one of the most serious factors was that after Amesbury had punched Mr Fellows to the ground, he continued to repeatedly hit him again, despite his victim not retaliating at all.

If it wasn’t for other people rushing to intervene, the judge said he was sure Amesbury would have done Mr Fellows even more harm.

Was there more history to their relationship? We don’t know. Amesbury certainly felt the need to assert his elevated position: “You won’t ever threaten the MP again, will you?” he shouted back at Mr Fellows, still on the ground, again and again.

The judge said Amesbury ought to have been a role model to others - and only an immediate prison sentence was sufficient punishment.

The prison van is taking Amesbury away to serve his prison sentence.

He was earlier jailed for 10 weeks for assaulting a constituent.

Kaleigh Watterson
BBC Cheshire political reporter

This could spell the end of a long political career for Mike Amesbury.

The 55-year-old was a long-standing Labour Party member before becoming a councillor in his home city of Manchester, and later an MP in Cheshire.

And he has been highly thought of and popular among many too - highlighted by his majority of almost 15,000 at the last general election.

But now a by-election looms for his seat of Runcorn and Helsby and there is a very real chance he will end his career not by losing his seat in a general election or choosing to stand down on his own terms - but as a convicted criminal.

Erica Witherington
Reporting from Chester Magistrates' Court

The prison van is still waiting here at Chester Magistrates’ and so too are the photographers, keen to capture Amesbury leaving for a month behind bars.

It’s a busy court and there will be other defendants receiving custodial sentences here today.

The MP for Runcorn and Helsby’s likely to be sharing a van with a number of offenders when it’s finally ready to leave.

The magistrate told Amesbury he must serve 40% of his 10 week sentence. That would work out at about a month in jail at the Category B prison HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.

After that, he will be released on licence and must attend appointments with probation officers or risk being brought back to court.

The MP was also asked to pay £200 in compensation to his victim and court costs of £85.

Looking back at the 2024 general election results in Runcorn and Helsby, Amesbury secured around 52.9% of the vote as he won the seat for Labour with 22,358 votes.

Reform came second in the newly-created constituency, with candidate Jason Moorcroft taking 7,662 votes, a vote-share of about 18.1%.

Meanwhile the Conservatives finished third with about 16% of the vote. The parties will be keeping a keen on today's events and preparing themselves to hit the campaign trail once again should a by-election be triggered.

In more political reaction to the sentence, Reform UK has said Amesbury should stand down immediately for a by-election to take place.

The party's chairman Zia Yusuf said: "The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place.

"We call on Mike Amesbury to do the honourable thing and resign immediately so a by-election can be held."

If Amesbury resigns a by-election would be automatically triggered.

Should a by-election take place in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency, Reform and the Conservatives would be hoping to overturn Labour's majority of 14,696.

Residents of the MP's constituency "deserved better" after his "completely unacceptable actions", the Labour Party has said in a statement.

It said: "The Labour Party took swift action following Mike Amesbury's completely unacceptable actions and he is no longer a Labour MP or a member of the Labour Party.

"It is right that Mr Amesbury pleaded guilty and has now been sentenced.

"Local residents in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency deserved better and we look forward to them getting the representation they deserve in the future with a new Labour MP."

If you're just joining us, here's a round-up of the key developments from Chester Magistrates' Court:

• Mike Amesbury, the former Labour and now independent MP was jailed for 10 weeks for assault
• He previously admitted punching a man, constituent Paul Fellows, on a street in Frodsham Cheshire in October last year.
• Amesbury's application for bail so he could lodge an appeal against the sentence was refused
• Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said the MP's "drunken" assault was too serious for a community order and immediate custody was necessary
• The conviction means a recall petition could be called to unseat the politician by his Runcorn and Helsby constituents

Erica Witherington
Reporting from Chester Magistrates' Court

The press pack has now moved around to the back of Chester Magistrates’ Court - where a prison van is waiting.

At the end of the hearing, Amesbury's defence lawyer asked the magistrate to release him bail while he appeals against his sentence, but this was refused.

From the court, he will be taken to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool. Unlike many defendants, he did not appear to have a brought a bag of belongings with him.

The incident first came to light when footage of the attack began to circulate widely on social media.

The footage - which was shown to the court - shows the MP hitting Paul Fellows and shouting: "You won’t threaten the MP ever again, will you?"

The custodial sentence handed to Mike Amesbury means voters in his constituency can remove him from his seat with a recall petition.

They can be called if a sitting MP is convicted of an offence that leads to jail time, or even a suspended sentence.

More than 10% of voters need to sign the petition in his Runcorn and Helsby constituency for a by-election to be triggered.

A recall petition would also be triggered if the House of Commons decided to suspend him for 10 sitting days or more.

Image source, EPA

Amesbury’s lawyer asked for him to be allowed bail so that he could appeal, but this was refused.

The MP was told he will serve 40% of his sentence, with the rest spent on licence.

A prison van has been seen at the back of the court building.

Amesbury stood in the dock with his hands clasped as he listened to his fate.

Two prison officers escorted him from the dock after the sentence was passed.

The magistrate said he accepted the MP had spent his life in public service and "served in high office" but his focus was on "public protection".

He said the MP had "argued that you acted only in self defence, but I note your guilty plea".