Claudia Webbe has been expelled from the Labour Party after she was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence for a harassment campaign, a Labour spokesman said.
Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Shabana Mahmood called for Claudia Webbe to resign as an MP.
She said Labour would push for a recall petition to force a by-election if Ms Webbe did not quit the Commons.
She said: “It’s an incredibly serious offence and we called on her to resign as soon as she was convicted.
“She’s now been sentenced, she should do the right thing by the people of Leicester East, she’s been expelled from the Labour Party, we will have our own candidate, we’ll be calling for a recall and we will be fielding our own candidate and offering the people of Leicester a fresh choice about somebody who can represent them here in the House of Commons.”
Claudia Webbe threatened to throw acid in the face of another woman during a one-sided harassment campaign born out of jealousy has been spared an immediate jail sentence.
Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe leaves Westminster Magistrates Court, London, she has been given a 10-week jail term suspended for two years and 200 hours' community service for harassing Michelle Merritt, a long-term friend of her boyfriend, Lester Thomas, who said she needed therapy after her ordeal.
Stefan Rousseau
The Leicester East MP showed no emotion as she was handed a 10-week jail term – suspended for two years – and 200 hours’ community service at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for harassing Michelle Merritt, a long-term friend of her boyfriend, Lester Thomas, who said she needed therapy after her ordeal.
Webbe, 56, denied the allegation and said she felt like a “victim” herself due to the amount of abuse she received on social media.
She was convicted last month after the court heard she also threatened to leak naked images of Ms Merritt and made a string of phone calls in which she warned her to “get out of my relationship”. The court heard the pair had never met in person.
In a statement following sentence, Webbe said: “I am very disappointed by the decision of the magistrate and want to strongly reiterate that I am innocent.
“I am lodging an appeal and despite today’s sentence I fully expect the appeal to be granted and that, ultimately, it will be successful.
“Throughout this process I have received numerous threats to my life and vile racist abuse.
“The cowards responsible for these attacks will not deter me from clearing my name.
“I want to thank constituents, family, friends and my comrades in the Labour movement for their support and solidarity, and to my legal team for their professionalism during this process.”
Webbe was also ordered to pay £3,128 in costs and surcharges.
Her counsel, Paul Hynes QC, said his client was “in significant personal debt” pre-dating her time as an MP and offered to pay the fine in £100 increments every 28 days.
However, the chief magistrate said that was “not going to cut it” for someone on Webbe’s salary, and ordered it be paid within six months.
