A disgraced MP who was convicted for lying about a speeding office has issued a desperate plea on Facebook, asking voters to keep her in office.
Fiona Onasanya, MP for Peterborough, used a Facebook video to appeal to the public. On Tuesday, a petition is being launched to try to force a by-election in her constituency.
In the video, Onasanya protests her innocence and tells constituents she hopes to “continue to be your voice, because you deserve nothing less”.
Onasanya, who will stand as an independent after she was expelled from the Labour party, says: “The media has shown you one side. I am telling you, I am innocent and will continue to pursue avenues to clear my name.”
She goes on to tell Peterborough voters she is “willing and able” continue as an MP but the “the choice is now in your hands”.
It comes after she was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey and had her Court of Appeal reject a challenge against her conviction.
The 35-year-old was elected for Labour in the Cambridgeshire city in 2017 by just 607 votes.
She refused to stand down despite being sent to jail and continued as an independent as she spent one month of a three-month sentence behind bars.
She was not subject to automatic removal as an MP as her sentence was less than 12 months.
She concludes her video by saying: “If you wish for me to continue as your independent MP, I am willing and able to do so but the choice is now in your hands.”
HuffPost UK has contacted the Labour Party for comment.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Labour’s Fiona Onasanya has let Peterborough down. She has refused to do the right thing and step down and continued to receive her taxpayer-funded salary while in prison.
“Now a recall petition is being triggered, the people of Peterborough have the opportunity to demand a new MP through a by-election.”