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Fiona Onasanya

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Fiona Onasanya
Official portrait, 2017
Opposition Whip
In office
18 January 2018 – 20 December 2018
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Succeeded byBambos Charalambous
Member of Parliament
for Peterborough
In office
8 June 2017 – 1 May 2019
Preceded byStewart Jackson
Succeeded byLisa Forbes
Personal details
Born
Fiona Oluyinka Onasanya

(1983-08-23) 23 August 1983 (age 41)
Cambridge, England
Political partyLabour (until 2018)
Independent (2018-2019)
EducationUniversity of Hertfordshire
College of Law

Fiona Oluyinka Onasanya (/ˌɒnəˈsænjə/; born 23 August 1983)[1][2] is a former British politician and solicitor. She was elected as a Labour Party MP in the 2017 United Kingdom general election for the constituency of Peterborough and was removed from that office in 2019 following a successfully recall petition triggered by her convicition of perverting the course of justice.[3][4]

Onasanya was found guilty on 19 December 2018 for lying to police to avoid being prosecuted for speeding. She unsuccessfully sought to secure permission to appeal against the conviction.[5][6][7] Her expulsion from the Labour Party, effective in December 2018, was announced in January 2019.[8][9] On 29 January 2019 she was sentenced to three months in prison.[10] She was removed from office on 1 May 2019 after a successful recall petition, automatically triggered in cases of a custodial sentence of a year or less, under the Recall of MPs Act 2015. This prompted a by-election, making her the first MP to lose their seat through the recall process.[11]

Early life and career

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Onasanya was born in Cambridge and is of Nigerian ancestry.[12] Her parents, Frank and Paulina Onasanya,[13] separated when she was three and she lived with her mother and younger brother.[13] Onasanya was educated at Netherhall School and studied law at the University of Hertfordshire[14][15] and the University of Law.[14] She worked at the solicitors Nockolds, then Eversheds. Following her admission as a solicitor in November 2015, she worked at Howes Percival, then DC Law, specialising in commercial property law.[15][16][17][18]

Onasanya was elected as Labour Cambridgeshire County Councillor for King's Hedges in Cambridge in 2013 and became deputy leader of the Labour group on the council.[19] She was also the local party's spokeswoman for children and young people[20] and sat on the council's Joint Consultative Committee for teachers.[21] In 2017 she unsuccessfully sought the nomination to be Labour's candidate for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.[14]

Onasanya moved to Peterborough in 2014.[13]

Parliamentary career

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For the 2017 general election, Onasanya was selected by the Labour Party to stand in the constituency of Peterborough, which had been held since 2005 by Stewart Jackson, a Conservative. Onasanya defeated Jackson with a majority of 607 votes and a 2.7% swing to Labour.[4] In July 2017, she said that she wished to be Britain's first black prime minister.[22]

Onasanya was appointed as a Labour whip and as a parliamentary private secretary to Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith.[23][24] She attracted some notice when she quoted lyrics from Man's Not Hot, a viral song, during a budget debate in November 2017.[25][26] She voted remain in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and subsequently voiced support for a second vote on Brexit, either by means of a second referendum or a general election.[27]

After being found guilty of perverting the course of justice, it was announced in January 2019 that she had been expelled from the Labour Party in December 2018.[8][9]

On 12 March 2019, Onasanya voted against the Government's Brexit withdrawal agreement, which was defeated in the second "meaningful vote". This was reported to be her first vote in the House of Commons since her release from prison and the first occasion that an MP voted while wearing an electronic tag.[28] On 4 April, Onasanya voted to legally require the Prime Minister to seek an extension of Article 50 from the European Union. The bill passed by just one vote and Onasanya's critical role was highlighted by the media.[29][30]

On 27 March 2019, Onasanya was among the 21 MPs who voted against improved LGBT education in schools.[31]

In late April, Onasanya made her only speech in the Commons during the period between her release from prison and losing her seat as a result of the successful recall petition. During her two-minute intervention, she disputed the government's assertion that austerity was coming to an end.[32][33]

Criminal conviction and removal from office

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In July 2018, Onasanya was charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to two speeding incidents which occurred in 2017.[34] The first charge alleged that she was driving the vehicle during a speeding incident on 24 July 2017 but that, with her brother Festus Onasanya, she had claimed that someone else was driving. The second charge concerned a speeding incident on 23 August 2017 when Festus is alleged to have been the one driving.[1] Her brother was charged with three counts, two relating to the same incidents as his sister.[35][36] She appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 12 July 2018.[1][23][37] Onasanya said on 27 July 2018 that she "strongly refutes any suggestions that I have broken the law".[36] On 13 August 2018 at the Old Bailey, she pleaded not guilty to the one charge against her, relating to an alleged offence in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, in July 2017. Her trial date was set for 12 November 2018.[38]

A week before he was due to face trial with his sister, Festus Onasanya admitted three counts of perverting the course of justice.[39] At the first trial, Onasanya said she did not know who was driving on 24 July 2017.[40] She said that she initially mistakenly assumed that she could not have been driving the car on 24 July 2017 due to political commitments and left a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to be dealt with by whoever had been driving. Her brother, she said, had probably returned the form claiming someone else had been driving.[41] She said she now realised that she had had an appointment that would be consistent with her having been the driver but could not remember whether she had kept the appointment.[40][42] On 26 November 2018, the jury was discharged as it was unable to reach a verdict.[43]

Conviction and appeal

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At a retrial in December 2018, she was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.[44] Following the verdict, she was immediately suspended from the Labour Party, which also called on her to resign as an MP. She was expelled from the party the following day.[6][8] Her local newspaper, the Peterborough Telegraph, also called on her to resign.[45]

Onasanya continued to protest her innocence, saying in a message to other Labour MPs that she was "in good biblical company along with Joseph, Moses, Daniel and his three Hebrew friends who were each found guilty by the courts of their day", and that "Christ ... was accused and convicted by the courts of his day and yet this was not his end but rather the beginning of the next chapter in his story".[46] A week later, she indicated that she would not resign her seat.[47] She applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal against the conviction.[48][49]

Fiona Onasanya (right) leaving the Royal Courts of Justice after her application to appeal was rejected

On 29 January 2019, Onasanya was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, and her brother was sentenced to ten months.[50] As she received a custodial sentence, but of less than 12 months, a recall petition would be started after the appeal process had concluded. The local Labour Party said it would "actively" campaign in favour of such a petition.[8][49] (A custodial sentence of more than a year, including a suspended one, would have led to her being removed as an MP automatically, in accordance with the Representation of the People Act 1981.)[51] In a statement on 31 January, the Attorney General's Office said it had received a request for the case to be considered under the unduly lenient sentence scheme,[52] but on 25 February, it concluded that the sentence was not unduly lenient.[53] Onasanya was released on home detention curfew from HM Prison Bronzefield in Surrey on 26 February.[54] Her ability fully to participate in Parliamentary business depended on the terms of her curfew.[55]

On 5 March 2019, her application for permission to appeal against the conviction was refused by the Court of Appeal. Onasanya presented without legal counsel, legal binders or notes, and the court found "absolutely no basis" for challenging the conviction.[56]

Recall

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Main article: 2019 Peterborough recall petition

Later the same day, 5 March, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, duly informed the House that he gave notice under Section 1 of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 that the opening of a recall petition against Onasanya may be organised; if more than 10% of the Peterborough electorate were to sign such a petition within six weeks, then her seat in the House of Commons would become forfeit and a by-election would be triggered,[57] though she would be free to stand in that by-election.

The recall petition was called on 19 March and was available for signature until 1 May 2019.[58] On the day prior to the recall petition being called, Onasanya released a video protesting her innocence.[59][60] On 1 May, it was announced that the recall petition had exceeded the necessary threshold of 10% of the electors in her seat: 19,261, or 27.6%, had signed. As a result, her seat was declared vacant, causing a by-election in Peterborough.[61][62] The Electoral Commission later disclosed that 28% of eligible voters had signed the petition, with the threshold of 10% being reached in the first two days.[63]

On 3 May, Onasanya announced that she would not stand in the by-election. The previous Labour candidate, Lisa Forbes, stood again for the party, winning the by-election.[64][65]

Removal as a solicitor

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In August 2019 a disciplinary tribunal of the Solicitors Regulation Authority struck Onasanya from the roll of solicitors and ordered her to pay costs of £6,562, after finding that she had "failed to act with integrity", had not "(upheld) the rule of law and proper administration of justice" and had "acted dishonestly".[66]

Personal life

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Onasanya lives in Paston, Peterborough,[19] and attends iCAN Community Church in East London.[14] She is a member of Christians on the Left (formerly the Christian Socialist Movement).[67][68] It has been claimed that her religious beliefs partly stem from being involved in a road traffic collision as a child, when, although Onasanya was badly injured, her mother took her home and prayed rather than taking her to hospital.[69]

She is a patron of Women Worldwide Advocating Freedom and Equality[70] and was a trustee of East Hertfordshire YMCA, which closed in June 2018.[14]

Onasanya stated during her trial, in November 2018, that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[42][71] In 2020 she self-published a memoir, Snakes & Adders.[72]

In June 2020, Onasanya attracted national and international attention by accusing Kellogg's of racism for using a monkey as the mascot of their Coco Pops cereal.[73][74][75]

See also

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  • Chris Davies – former MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, the second MP to have faced a recall petition under the terms of the Recall of MPs Act 2015, and who was defeated in the subsequent by-election held in August 2019.
  • Chris Huhne – resigned as a Member of Parliament in 2013 when he pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice over a speeding case in 2003, in relation to the matter of who was driving.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Fisher, Paul (25 July 2018). "Everything we know so far about the court case against Peterborough Labour MP Fiona Onasanya". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  2. ^ "MP convicted of perverting the course of justice". Crown Prosecution Service. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Fiona Onasanya". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Peterborough parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Votes and Proceedings: Notifications under the Recall of MPs Act 2015" (PDF). House of Commons. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Fiona Onasanya: Peterborough MP guilty in speeding case". BBC News. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  7. ^ Wharton, Jane (5 March 2019). "Fiona Onasanya loses fight against conviction for perverting course of justice". Metro. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Lamy, Joel (3 January 2019). "Fiona Onasanya expelled by Labour as party chief tells Peterborough voters – 'you were failed'". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b Sabbagh, Dan (4 January 2019). "Labour confirms expulsion of convicted MP Fiona Onasanya". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  10. ^ "R. v Festus Onasanya and Fiona Onasanya: Sentencing Remarks" (PDF). Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Speeding offence MP ousted under recall rules". BBC News. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  12. ^ Asadu, Chinedu (9 June 2017). "Onwurah, Osamor, Onasanya… meet the seven British Nigerians elected into UK parliament". TheCable. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Lamy, Joel (15 July 2017). "Exclusive Interview: Life-changing election victory for Peterborough's new MP". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e Carr, Tim; Dale, Iain; Waller, Robert (7 September 2017). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2017. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-2789 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ a b Hyde, John (26 July 2018). "Solicitor MP charged with perverting course of justice". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Onasanya, Fiona". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  17. ^ "Fiona Oluyinka Onasanya". The Law Society. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Fiona Onasanya". LinkedIn.
  19. ^ a b Lamy, Joel (2 May 2017). "Labour reveals Peterborough election candidate to take on Stewart Jackson". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  20. ^ Walker, Peter (25 July 2018). "Labour MP charged with perverting the course of justice". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Councillor Fiona Onasanya". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  22. ^ Adebambo, Gbenga (22 July 2017). "Fiona Onasanya: Dreaming to become Britain's first black female Prime Minister". The Guardian. Lagos. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  23. ^ a b Fisher, Paul (25 July 2018). "Peterborough Labour MP Fiona Onasanya charged with perverting the course of justice". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Fiona Onasanya Parliamentary factfile". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019 – via PressReader.
  25. ^ Simpson, Fiona (25 July 2018). "Labour MP charged with perverting the course of justice". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  26. ^ "MP Fiona Onasanya slips Big Shaq's Man's Not Hot lyrics into Commons". BBC News. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  27. ^ Lamy, Joel (26 September 2018). "Peterborough MP signals support for second Brexit vote". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  28. ^ Tominey, Camilla (12 March 2019). "Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya votes on Brexit deal in electronic tag". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  29. ^ Mikhailova, Anna (4 April 2019). "Brexit latest news: Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya voted for bill to delay Brexit which passed by majority of one". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  30. ^ Wills, Ella (4 April 2019). "Fiona Onasanya: Backlash as disgraced ex-Labour MP backs bill to seek Brexit delay that passed by just one vote". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  31. ^ Parker, Connor (29 March 2019). "Disgraced Fiona Onasanya Among MPs Who Voted Against Improved LGBT Education In Schools". HuffPost. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  32. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Disgraced MP makes speech in Commons". BBC News. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Speeding offence MP ousted under recall rules". BBC News. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  34. ^ "MP Fiona Onasanya accused of lying about speeding". BBC News. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  35. ^ Heffer, Greg (25 July 2018). "Labour MP Fiona Onasanya charged after 'lying about speeding'". Sky News. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  36. ^ a b "MP Fiona Onasanya 'strongly' denies lying about speeding". BBC News. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  37. ^ "Labour MP in court charged with perverting the course of justice". BT Group. 25 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  38. ^ Elgot, Jessica (13 August 2018). "Labour MP pleads not guilty to perverting course of justice". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  39. ^ "Labour MP's brother admits perverting course of justice". The Guardian. London. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  40. ^ a b "Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya 'did not know' who was driving when her car was caught speeding". Peterborough Telegraph. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  41. ^ Syal, Rajeev (20 November 2018). "Labour MP tells court she doesn't know who drove speeding Nissan". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  42. ^ a b "MP 'suffering from incurable illness'". BBC News. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  43. ^ Davies, Gareth (26 November 2018). "Jury fail to reach verdict in case of Labour MP Fiona Onasanya". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  44. ^ Syal, Rajeev (19 December 2018). "Labour MP guilty of lying over speeding charge". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  45. ^ Edwards, Mark (20 December 2018). "Peterborough Telegraph Editor's Comment: Unfortunately no longer fit to be an MP". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  46. ^ Schofield, Kevin (20 December 2018). "Labour MP convicted of perverting course of justice compares herself to Jesus". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  47. ^ Onasanya, Fiona (28 December 2018). "I will continue to fight against injustices". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  48. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Peterborough MP appeals against conviction". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  49. ^ a b Lamy, Joel (17 January 2019). "Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya appeals conviction for perverting the course of justice". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  50. ^ Syal, Rajeev (29 January 2019). "Fiona Onasanya to try to stay on as MP despite jail sentence". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  51. ^ Welch, James (4 June 2009). "Question 18: Prisoners' rights". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  52. ^ Yorke, Harry; Swinford, Steven (30 January 2019). "Fiona Onasanya's 'unduly lenient' sentence could increase as Attorney General poised to intervene". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  53. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Speeding MP's jail term 'not unduly lenient'". BBC News. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  54. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Speeding MP released from prison". BBC News. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  55. ^ Syal, Rajeev (26 February 2019). "Fiona Onasanya could wear tag in parliament after release from jail". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  56. ^ Syal, Rajeev (5 March 2019). "MP Fiona Onasanya loses appeal against conviction". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  57. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Jailed MP loses appeal against conviction". BBC News. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  58. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Recall process against MP continues". BBC News. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  59. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Jailed MP protests innocence on YouTube". BBC News. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  60. ^ Buchan, Lizzy (18 March 2019). "Fiona Onasanya: Disgraced former Labour MP posts bizarre video proclaiming innocence in front of New York skyline". MSN. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  61. ^ "Recall petition result: Fiona Onasanya no longer Peterborough's MP". ITV Anglia. ITN. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  62. ^ Willis, Ella; White, Megan (1 May 2019). "Fiona Onasanya: Disgraced Labour MP loses seat in Peterborough sparking by-election". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  63. ^ Lamy, Joel (10 October 2019). "Peterborough voters took just two days to oust former MP Fiona Onasanya, Electoral Commission reveals". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  64. ^ Onasanya, Fiona [@Fiona_Onasanya] (3 May 2019). "Therefore, in light of the recall result, I will not be seeking to stand in the by-election, but would encourage every person seeking to be the change they wish to see by saying this:..." (Tweet). Retrieved 4 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  65. ^ "Ousted MP Fiona Onasanya will not fight Peterborough by-election". BBC News. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  66. ^ "Fiona Onasanya: Former MP struck off as solicitor". BBC News. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  67. ^ "Success Stories: New MPs" (PDF). Christians on the Left Newsletter: 2. June 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  68. ^ Wyatt, Tim (9 June 2017). "Christian Left pleasantly surprised by election that leaves PM bargaining for power". Church Times. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  69. ^ "Exclusive Interview: 'I may have faith in God, but I don't class myself as religious' says Peterborough MP". Peterborough Telegraph. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  70. ^ "Fiona Onasanya MP". Women's History Network. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  71. ^ Yorke, Harry (19 December 2018). "Fiona Onasanya faces possible jail sentence after being found guilty of lying to police". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  72. ^ Ryder, Alistair (19 February 2020). "We read disgraced ex-MP Fiona Onasanya's autobiography and it was... a lot". Cambridge News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  73. ^ "Disgraced ex-Peterborough MP hits out at Kellogg's over Snap, Crackle and Pop and Coco the Monkey". Peterborough Telegraph. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  74. ^ Hall, James (17 June 2020). "MP accuses Coco Pops of being racist". Ipswich Advertiser. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  75. ^ Hall, James (17 June 2020). "Coco Pops racism row: Former UK MP says breakfast cereal is racist". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Peterborough
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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