Labour MP Fiona Onasanya faces possible jail sentence after being found guilty of lying to police

Jurors heard how Ms Onasanya and her brother had gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid her being penalised for the offence, including claiming that a Russian acquaintance, Aleks Antipow, had been behind the wheel, despite him being overseas when the offence was committed.

When challenged by investigating officers, Ms Onasanya, who is a devout Christian, said she stood by her account.

She later changed course when her brother pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice, alleging that he had falsely filled out the notice without her knowledge.

Throughout the trial, Ms Onasanya asserted her innocence both inside and outside of court, with one Labour staffer telling The Daily Telegraph that she was so confident of being acquitted that she had begun planning events for the coming months days after police first pressed charges.

This newspaper can also reveal that on November 5, less than a week before her first trial commenced, Ms Onasanya began advertising for a constituency support manager.

However, her version of events were seriously undermined when her former communications manager, Dr Christian DeFeo, came forward during her trial to allege that she had visited his home - near to where the offence occurred - that evening.

Dr DeFeo said he felt “morally and legally” obliged to come forward, adding that never in his “darkest dreams” had he imagined giving evidence against a woman he helped elect.

Prosecuting, David Jeremy QC, claimed that Ms Onasanya was a “determined and resilient” storyteller who had attempted to “sacrifice” her brother to escape conviction.

He added: “What you have done is create a story that makes his crimes so much worse and you have done it to try and get yourself acquitted of this charge. You have sacrificed your own brother.”

Following the verdict, Donna Rayner of the Crown Prosecution Service said that both Ms Onasanya and her brother had “lied to the authorities in the hope they could avoid the consequences of their speeding offences”.

She will be sentenced at a later date.

It comes 18 months after Ms Onasanya pulled off one of the shock results of last year’s election, unseating the senior Conservative MP Stewart Jackson by a wafer-thin margin of just 607 votes.

Virtually unknown within the party and local constituency, she told a local newspaper that the victory was down to God, adding: “I did not achieve this alone – I thank God for His favour.”

A source close to Ms Onasanya also claimed that during the election campaign, when told her prospects of winning were slim, she replied:  “I am going to win. God told me I’m going to win”.

One insider close to the Peterborough MP said her conviction in God partly stemmed from a near-death experience as a child, when she was involved in a collision with a car.

They claimed that Ms Onasanya told them they she had been badly injured, but rather than being taken to hospital, her mother took her home and prayed that she recovered.

She has also expressed a desire to become Britain’s first black prime minister, which she said would “open the door so others can go beyond”.

A Labour spokesman said the party was “deeply disappointed” with her behaviour, adding that it fell “well below what is expected of politicians.”

I'd never use my phone while driving, says MP

Fiona Onasanya denied she would have been speeding in her car while using her mobile phone when she appeared in the dock. 

"I do not use my phone while driving which is why I do not believe it was me," she said. 

The prosecution has alleged the Peterborough MP schemed with her brother Festus to claim a Russian man was driving the car when it was clocked speeding in the village of Thorney.

Jurors have heard Aleks Antipow was in Russia at home with his parents at the time.

Onasanya has told the Old Bailey she left a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) at her mother's Cambridge house for whoever had been driving to fill in, assuming she was in Westminster that day.

Onasanya 'distracted by workload and ill health'

The Labour MP described in court how she battled the debilitating effects of an incurable illness and responsibilities as a new MP as she was being pursued over a speeding offence, her first trial heard.

Fiona Onasanya, 35, denied using "dishonest means" to dodge a prosecution for driving 41mph in a 30mph zone and giving evidence at the Old Bailey, she said she got into politics and was a county councillor before landing her marginal Peterborough seat by 607 votes in June last year, the month before the speeding offence.

She told her first trial said: "I was sitting in the pub talking about the riots in London when the secretary for the Cambridge Labour Party said, 'I hope you don't mind my eavesdropping on the conversation, have you ever thought of politics?"

The trained solicitor told jurors that after her election she was thrown in "the ocean" and expected to swim in her new job at Parliament, working in a corridor and being faced with thousands of emails.

When a notice of intended prosecution (Nip) arrived in the post, she said she "assumed" she was not driving that Monday because of her Westminster commitments, even though Parliament was in recess.

She left the letter at her mother's house for whoever had been driving her car to deal with, not realising it was her responsibility as keeper of the vehicle, she said.

Christine Agnew QC, defending, asked: "Was it your intention that Festus should use his dishonest means to help you out?"

"Absolutely not," the MP replied.

"If I had thought I was driving, I wouldn't have left it at my mum's house in the first place."

The MP told jurors she suffered a relapse of multiple sclerosis in September last year.

She said: "I probably was not in the best head space. I've just been told I had got an incurable degenerative disease."

Churchgoer Onasanya discussed her hectic rise through politics, joining a select committee four weeks after the general election, and being faced with thousands of unread emails.

"It was massive. It was more a leap than a step," said Onasanya, who wore a blazer and black dress.

"It was a little bit like being asked if you can swim and you say, 'Yes, I can get by, I can swim', and then you get thrown in the ocean."

Former aide appears for prosecution mid-trial

In a dramatic twist, Onasanya's former aide appeared at the Old Bailey having said he felt "morally and legally" obliged to give evidence against her.

Dr Christian DeFeo, who managed campaigns and communications for the Peterborough MP, said he was compelled to contact police after spotting a news report of her first trial at the Old Bailey.

Dr DeFeo said he discussed with his wife Caroline Earle whether or not to give evidence against the 35-year-old, but decided he had a moral duty to contact police on Tuesday this week, the day Onasanya's trial began.

He told the court he had "enormous hopes invested" in the Labour MP, who was elected in 2017, and added: "I never dreamed in my darkest dreams - I never thought I would have to be sitting here (giving evidence).

"It is with the greatest reluctance I have to do this.

"To do otherwise, I cannot. It's morally and legally unacceptable not to."

The court heard there had been a "bit of a falling out" between the MP and Ms Earle after an event marking 100 years of Labour in Peterborough was cancelled by Onasanya.

Asked by prosecutor David Jeremy QC whether he "had it in" for Onasanya as a result of the dispute, Dr DeFeo said he did not, and added: "From day one I wanted her to succeed.

"I wanted her to be a great MP and I said on a number of occasions that I wanted her to be an MP as long as she wanted to be.

"It's a terrible thing to have to do this."

The court was told about an email exchange between Onasanya and Dr DeFeo, arranging to meet on July 24 last year.

Asked what time she was there, the witness said: "I cannot say a specific time, however she arrived late and was there quite late because we offered her a bed to stay the night.

"She arrived in her car. She arrived alone. She pulled up her car in front of our house. I greeted her at the door."

Dr DeFeo said Onasanya, his wife and himself spent no less than two hours discussing the "nitty gritty" of a charity lease in his living room.

They were there together throughout apart from the occasional "loo breaks" and his wife going into the kitchen to prepare a "hot lemon squash".

Dr DeFeo said Onasanya had been to his home three or four times, including when he threw a "victory party" to celebrate her election, accompanied by her mother.

Ms Earle told jurors how she came to give evidence to the police.

She said: "I knew Fiona's trial started on Monday. I was on Twitter and saw something about it from our local paper.

"I then came to realise that the speed camera is around the location of our house.

"It was then that I looked at the date. That date is ingrained in my mind because the very next day we had a very big and quite serious meeting (regarding the charity lease)."

The court heard Ms Earle and her husband exchanged messages on Facebook this week where they were trying to find a record of Onasanya's visit to their home on July 24 last year.

Ms Earle, under cross-examination from defence counsel Christine Agnew QC, said any reference to "got her" and "bingo" in the message exchange with her husband did not indicate being "pleased" in "catching" the MP out.

Ms Earle, who repeatedly told jurors she was unwell while giving evidence, said "got her" was Dr DeFeo saying he found the email confirming the MP's attendance, and "bingo" was an acknowledgement of that.

She said: "We're trying to do the right thing.

"I don't want to be here, I'd like to be anywhere but here."

She admitted she had read tweets about the case during the lunch break on Thursday but denied she was "confused" about what time the MP arrived at her house.

The defence suggests Onasanya turned up around 5pm, rather than just after 10pm as claimed by the married witnesses. The court heard the speed camera was set off shortly after 10pm.

Will there be a by-election?

A by-election will automatically be called in Ms Onasanya’s Peterborough constituency if the Labour MP is jailed for more than one year.

The Representation of the People Act 1981 dictates that MPs who are found guilty of one or more offences and who are sentenced to more than one year in prison are disqualified from membership of the House of Commons.

If Ms Onasanya received a shorter sentence she would still face immense political pressure to quit, with the Labour Party having already called on her to resign.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "The Labour Party is deeply disappointed in Fiona Onasanya's behaviour. It falls well below what is expected of politicians. She should now resign.”

Ms Onasanya was immediately suspended from the party and had the whip taken away which means she is now an independent MP.

The 35-year-old delivered one of the major shocks of the 2017 general election as she ousted the long-serving Tory Stewart Jackson, winning the seat with a majority of just 607 votes.

Mr Jackson yesterday ruled himself out of trying to win back the seat in the event a by-election is called, but the Conservative Party would be hopeful of overturning last year’s surprise result.

Mr Jackson won the seat for the Tories from Labour in 2005 and then held onto in 2010 and 2015. By-elections are formally triggered by the chief whip of the political party whose MP previously held the seat through a process known as “moving the writ”.

Effectively the chief whip asks the Commons Speaker to kickstart the legal proceedings for a by-election with MPs then asked to agree.

The writ is usually moved within three months of a seat becoming vacant but sometimes it can be delayed longer than that. Once it has been moved a by-election typically takes place between 21 and 27 working days later.