Christian MP Fiona Onasanya loses seat under recall rules

Fiona Onasanya has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.Twitter

A Christian MP who was jailed in January after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice has lost her seat following a recall petition. 

Fiona Onasanya was suspended by the Labour Party following her conviction, which was in relation to a speeding offence. She was sentenced to three months in prison but was released after serving less than four weeks. 

Following her suspension by Labour, she represented Peterborough as an independent and had previously appealed to constituents to let her retain her seat. 

"From the outset, I have maintained my innocence.  I have not perverted the course of justice," she told constituents in a video message when the recall petition was first announced.

But 27 per cent came out in support of her removal - equivalent to 19,261 constituents  and well above the 10 per cent threshold. 

It makes her the first MP to lose their seat in a recall petition since the procedure was first introduced by David Cameron in 2015. 

Confirming the result, Commons Speaker John Bercow told MPs: "Fiona Onasanya is no longer the member for Peterborough and the seat is accordingly vacant.

"She can therefore no longer participate in any parliamentary proceedings as a member of parliament."

Although Ms Onasanya has lost her seat, she is permitted to stand in the by-election to select Peterborough's next MP. 

Nigel Farage has already said a candidate from his Brexit Party will stand, although he did not say who. 

He tweeted: "I can confirm that @brexitparty_uk will fight the Peterborough by-election. We will give it our best shot."

Lisa Forbes will stand as Labour's candidate.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: "Labour campaigned hard for a victory in this recall petition. The people of Peterborough clearly agree that Fiona Onasanya is not fit to be their MP and we're delighted they will now have the chance to vote for a Labour MP in our excellent candidate, Lisa Forbes."