A Reform MP was jailed 18 years in the past for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend, newly launched courtroom data have revealed.
James McMurdock, 38, the brand new MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, was convicted of assaulting his then girlfriend in 2006 whereas drunk exterior a nightclub.
He spent 21 days in a younger offenders’ establishment after admitting to the assault.
Earlier than he was elected as an MP, the funding banker had not publicly disclosed the conviction and when it emerged in July he had been jailed for attacking his girlfriend when he was 19 years outdated, he downplayed the incident as a “teenage indiscretion”.
However additional particulars of what occurred through the incident have now emerged after The Instances utilized to the courtroom for data from the official document.
It says he obtained the custodial sentence for “kicking” the sufferer “around four times”, The Instances stories.
Within the Justice of the Peace’s sentencing remarks, it says he was given 21 days in a younger offenders’ establishment and “the sentence was not suspended in light of serious nature of the offence”.
It stated the offence “requires immediate punishment” and a pre-sentence report indicated a “lack of willingness to comply”.
The report stated there was “limited credit for guilty plea, plea entered late, would have been 28 days”.
MPs do not need to reveal earlier convictions to the general public when standing, with solely individuals in jail on the time of the election for a sentence of greater than a 12 months barred.
Picture:
McMurdock (proper) on a go to to a sports activities membership with Nigel Farage. Pic: PA
McMurdock’s sufferer’s mom introduced the incident to mild per week after his election, saying he “left marks on her body” and “it took two security guards to pull him off her”.
When the allegations have been revealed, McMurdock stated the pair had argued and he had pushed her.
A Reform UK spokesperson on the time stated they have been conscious of his conviction and jail sentence.
However they stated the MP “absolutely rejects allegations that he either kicked, stamped or punched the victim, though he accepts that he pushed her, she fell and was injured”.
“A generous person might call it a teenage indiscretion but I do not expect everyone to be so kind.
“Practically 20 years in the past, at 19 years of age, on the finish of an evening out collectively, we argued and I pushed her. She fell over and he or she was harm. Regardless of being 38 now and having lived an entire life once more I nonetheless really feel deeply ashamed and apologetic.
“Despite us both being very drunk, I handed myself into the police immediately and admitted my fault. I was charged for what I did, not for what has been claimed, and I faced the consequences then and paid for my action in full.”
Picture:
Reform UK’s MPs (L-R) Lee Anderson, Nigel Farage, Rupert Lowe, Richard Tice and James McMurdock.
Pic: PA
He stated the “shame” of that evening “led me to turn my life around” and he now has a spouse and 4 kids, and is anticipating a fifth in February.
“I am surrounded by women on both sides of our family who love me and are proud of the man I am today,” he stated.
“This is the biggest regret of my life and I wish I could go back in time and fix things.”
The MP stated he hopes individuals consider him when he says he is aware of “how growth and redemption feels in ways that many others cannot”.
And he stated it’s only by being sincere about “my failings” that he has been capable of transfer on, and he hopes his sufferer can also.
“To this day I feel deeply sorry for the hurt I caused that cold, drunken evening 20 years ago,” he added.
