Disgraced former Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya continues to fight conviction

Disgraced former Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya is continuing her appeal against her conviction for perverting the course of justice by taking her case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
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Ms Onasanya was given a three month jail sentence in January last year after being convicted of lying over a speeding ticket at an Old Bailey trial in December 2018.

She appealed against the conviction, but her submissions were rejected at the Court of Appeal in London in March 2019.

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She has applied to the CCRC, an organisation set up to investigate suspected miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in an attempt to overturn the court result. Her application to the CCRC was made in July 2019. A spokesman said: “The matter remains under review at the Commission. We have kept Ms Onasanya updated regularly.”

Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya leaves The Royal Courts of Justice in London, after losing a challenge against her conviction for perverting the course of justice. The Peterborough MP was jailed for three months after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice by lying to police to avoid a speeding charge. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday March 5, 2019. See PA story COURTS Onasanya. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire EMN-190503-153019001Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya leaves The Royal Courts of Justice in London, after losing a challenge against her conviction for perverting the course of justice. The Peterborough MP was jailed for three months after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice by lying to police to avoid a speeding charge. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday March 5, 2019. See PA story COURTS Onasanya. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire EMN-190503-153019001
Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya leaves The Royal Courts of Justice in London, after losing a challenge against her conviction for perverting the course of justice. The Peterborough MP was jailed for three months after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice by lying to police to avoid a speeding charge. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday March 5, 2019. See PA story COURTS Onasanya. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire EMN-190503-153019001

If the CCRC believe Ms Onasanya has a case, they can refer it to the Court of Appeal for a further hearing.

The CCRC, one of the last resorts left for Ms Onasanya to overturn the conviction, was set up in 1997, and since then has referred 676 cases of the 25,819 applications - of which 658 were heard at court. Of those 658, 442 appeals have been allowed and 203 dismissed.

593 cases are currently under review at the Commission and 138 are awaiting consideration.

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It does not cost anything to apply for a review of a case by the Commission.

Ms Onasanya remained as city MP and claimed her salary during her spell at HMP Bronzefield - the same jail that houses Peterborough serial killer Joanne Dennehy.

However, she was removed from the post following a historic recall petition, which closed in May last year. The recall petition, the first ever held in England, saw 19,261 signatures obtained - which was 27 per cent of the electorate. Only 10 per cent were needed. The result of the petition meant she lost her seat, and while she had the right to stand in the subsequent by election, she decided not to. The cost of the recall petition was about £500,000.

Since her conviction, Ms Onasanya has also been struck off the Solicitor’s Register.

For more information about the CCRC visit https://ccrc.gov.uk/