An MP who claimed someone else was driving her car when it was clocked speeding has been sentenced to three months imprisonment.
Fiona Onsanya, 34, MP for Peterborough, was captured driving at 41mph in a 30mph zone in her Nissan Micra on The Causeway in Thorney, Cambridgeshire on 24 July 2017.
Onsanya, a solicitor, has become the first sitting politician for 30 years to be jailed following the successful prosecution.
A notice of intended prosecution was sent to Onasanya, who claimed someone else had been driving her car at the time of the incident.
Enquiries into the nominated driver found that person did not live at the address Onasanya had nominated and he was abroad on the date of the offence.
Onsanya’s brother, Festus, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice after lying about who was driving his car on three other occasions when it was caught speeding.
The people the defendants had nominated as drivers on each occasion were found to be previous tenants of the home Festus Onasanya was subletting in Cambridge, the Old Bailey heard.
Donna Rayner, of the CPS, said:
“Fiona Onasanya and her brother Festus both lied to the authorities in the hope they could avoid the consequences of their speeding offences.
“Fiona Onsanya denied perverting the course of justice but the CPS presented evidence that her phone was in the area when the speeding took place and the man she had nominated as the driver was, in fact, out of the country.
‘Clearly the jury did not believe her explanation.”
Onasayna was thrown out of the labour party after she was convicted.
Sentencing Onasanya, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said that Onasayna had made a “disastrous decision” and that “evidence that you didn’t know what you were doing, as a qualified solicitor is incredible”.
He said Onasanya “had been an able parliamentarian and a role model.”
“You have not simply let yourself down, you have let down those who look to you for inspiration, your party, your profession and Parliament,” he told her
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I hope she gets struck off as well as being sacked as an MP !!!