Labour MP faces trial over speeding ‘ lies’
A LABOUR MP will go on trial charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly lying about who was behind the wheel of a speeding vehicle.
Fiona Onasanya, MP for Peterborough, is said to have conspired with her younger brother to avoid penalty points.
The 34-year-old MP faces one count of perverting justice. Her 33-year-old brother Festus faces three counts of the same offence.
Prosecutors allege she or her sibling was behind the wheel of a speeding vehicle on July 24 last year, but they told the authorities someone called Aleks Antipow was driving.
The second count relates to an incident on August 23 when her brother was allegedly speeding but told the authorities the same man had been behind the wheel.
Festus, a singer from Cambridge, faces a third charge of perverting the course of justice relating to a similar offence. He allegedly blamed another man called Suvradip Paul for a speeding offence on June 17 last year.
Miss Onasanya, also from Cambridge, won her marginal seat last year. She is a member of Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team, serving as a whip responsible for party discipline.
At the Old Bailey in London yesterday she and her brother spoke only to confirm their names and enter pleas of not guilty.
They were bailed to return to the court on November 12 when their trial is expected to last between seven days and a fortnight.