British Parliament member charged with assault over an altercation in the street

LONDON -- A member of the British Parliament has been charged with assault after video showed him beating a man in the street, prosecutors said Thursday.

Mike Amesbury, 55, who was suspended by the Labour Party after the Oct. 26 incident, was charged with common assault on a 45-year-old man, said Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division. He is due to appear in court at a later date.

Amesbury called the incident “deeply regrettable” in a statement. He said he had been summoned to court, was cooperating with police and couldn't comment further.

Surveillance footage appeared to show Amesbury punch a man in the face on a sidewalk in the northwest England town of Frodsham and knock him to the ground. He then continued to strike the man while he was down as others shouted for him to stop.

Amesbury, from Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England, issued a statement after the incident saying he had been out with friends and had felt threatened.

Video on social media showed Amesbury pointing his finger at a man in the street and yelling: “You won’t ever threaten me again, will you?”

Earlier that night, Amesbury had been due to attend a local meeting about policing and community safety.

Last year a 56-year-old man was convicted of stalking Amesbury at his constituency office in Frodsham.