Fiona Onasanya MP 'was passenger' in speeding car Published duration 17 December 2018

image copyright PA image caption Fiona Onasanya denies perverting the course of justice over a speeding ticket issued a week after she was elected as MP

An MP accused of lying about who was behind the wheel of a speeding car has blamed her brother for the offence.

Fiona Onasanya, 35, told the Old Bailey Festus Onasanya was driving her Nissan Micra when it was caught doing 41mph in a 30mph zone in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, on 24 July 2017.

The Peterborough MP denies one count of perverting the course of justice.

Her 33-year-old brother has already pleaded guilty to the same charge and two similar counts.

Evidence used in court showed Ms Onasanya's mobile phone was being used in the vicinity of the speed camera at the time of the offence.

She told the jury her brother "would have had to be driving me" because "I don't use my phone when driving".

"I would have had to have been a passenger," she said.

image copyright PA image caption Festus Onasanya has pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice

Ms Onasanya also told the court her younger brother "thinks he must have been driving" because he was given the notice of intended prosecution (NIP) by their mother.

Earlier, the MP was asked about evidence from Mark Williams, an investigator for the Cambridgeshire Camera Ticket unit.

Following a phone conversation with her about the NIP on 2 November 2017, he recorded Ms Onasanya saying she "did sign the response", which she denied in court.

Defence lawyer David Jeremy QC later accused the MP of having "sacrificed" her brother "to save yourself".

Ms Onasanya had previously claimed a Russian man was driving her car when it was caught speeding.

The trial continues.

Related Topics Thorney

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