MP faces possible jail term over lies

L ABOUR has suspended former whip Fiona Onasanya and said she should resign as an MP after she was convicted of lying to police to avoid a speeding charge.

The 35-year-old solicitor, who now faces a possible jail sentence, was accused of colluding with her brother Festus after her car was clocked going 41mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Thorney near Peterborough.

The Old Bailey heard evidence the MP for Peterborough was texting as well as speeding on the evening of July 24 last year, during the summer Commons recess.

Prosecutor David Jeremy QC told the jury she went on to lie “persistently and deliberately” to avoid prosecution.

Festus Onasanya, 34, from Cambridge, had pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice over speeding, including over the July 24 incident.

But his sister, who was elected in June 2017, denied a single count of perverting the course of justice. She was found guilty following a retrial at the Old Bailey, putting her political career in jeopardy.

The trial had heard how as the registered keeper of the Nissan Micra, Onasanya was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to fill out and return. It was sent back naming Aleks Antipow, an acquaintance of her brother Festus, who was away visiting his parents in Russia.

Authorities repeatedly tried to contact Onasanya when they were unable to track down Mr Antipow at a false address.

When the Cambridgeshire Police camera unit asked Onasanya to provide correct information, she replied: “I have supplied the details made known to me as well as the licence information... I have provided a completed nomination previously.”

In a phone call on November 2 last year, she told an investigator that she “stands by her nomination”, jurors heard.

A week before the original trial, Festus Onasanya admitted perverting the course of justice to avoid speeding prosecutions on three occasions.

The singer-come-delivery driver already had nine points and risked losing his licence and his job if he received any more.

His sister had been caught speeding earlier last year and on that occasion filled out a NIP correctly and completed a speed awareness course to avoid three points.

A day after the first trial began, Onasanya’s former communications manager Christian DeFeo came forward to place her at his house in Thorney on July 24.

Jurors were also told that Onasanya had texted a landscape gardener minutes after the car was clocked speeding. Giving evidence, Onasanya denied lying to police for the sake of three points on her licence.

She did not recall visiting the DeFeo house on July 24 but could not rule out being behind the wheel. When she asked her brother about the ticket, Festus told her it was all “sorted”, she claimed.

The Onasanya siblings face possible jail time when they are sentenced on a later date.