Christian Labour MP Fiona Onasanya, who has been found guilty of lying to police to avoid a charge of speeding, has hit back at calls for her resignation in a WhatsApp message sent to other Labour MPs and compared herself to biblical prophets.
Onasanya, who became MP for Peterborough last year when she overturned the sitting Conservative MP in a shock win, has been open about her Christian faith, reflecting on her victory: 'When I won the election I put my hands together, looked up and said 'thank you and thank you'. Without Him I could not do this. That is my belief.'
She was convicted yesterday of perverting the course of justice after lying about who was driving her car in an attempt to avoid penalty points after speeding in a 30 mph zone. The man she said was driving was out of the country at the time and the prosecutor said she had lied 'persistently and deliberately'.
However, Onasanya messaged other Labour MPs comparing herself to Old Testament figures who were unjustly found guilty, and to Christ himself.
She said: 'Regardless of what you believe or suspect, the fact remains that I Fiona, sought to be the choice and voice of change – but this may now take a different path. More than ever before I am asking that you commit time in prayer for my family.
'In times like these the natural inclination of believers is to ask God why? I personally do not, because in my experience the answers are usually far above and beyond my reach. What I do know is that I am 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.
'While God did not save them from a guilty verdict he did save them in it and ensured that their greatest days of impact were on the other side of a guilty verdict. Of course this is equally true of Christ who 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.
'Please pray that my family will find peace and strength in this perilous time through this guilty verdict.'
Speaking in court, Nick Brown, Labour's chief whip, gave a character witness for her in which he described her as a 'decent, outgoing character'. He said: 'She is a person of strong personal beliefs rooted in her religious faith. I judge her to be honest, trustworthy and reliable.'
She cannot be forced to resign from parliament, though a sentence of more than a year, even if it is suspended, will automatically trigger a by-election.
