Claudia Webbe is facing calls to resign as MP for Leicester East after she was handed a suspended prison sentence.
Webbe currently sits in the Commons as an Independent MP, having been suspended from the Labour Party and now expelled from the party following her sentencing.
Webbe was found guilty last month of harassment and making threatening phone calls. On Thursday, Webbe was handed a 10-week custodial sentence suspended for two years, and also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and pay costs and compensation.
Labour’s National Campaign Coordinator Shabana Mahmood has called on the MP to resign, describing the sentence as being for “an incredibly serious offence”.
Webbe has claimed she is innocent and it is expected that she will appeal the sentence.
Under parliamentary rules, Webbe will remain an MP as her sentence is under a year. Members of Webbe’s constituency can launch a recall petition to remove her from Parliament, but not during the appeals process.
Webbe has been an MP since December 2019.
