Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya could lose her seat in parliament after an attempt to challenge her conviction for lying about a speeding charge failed.
The former Labour politician – who is a solicitor by profession – represented herself during the appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday morning.
She told the court: “The charge against me was perverting the course of justice.
“I said from the outset, and I still maintain my innocence, that I did not do that.”
But judges refused the appeal against her conviction for perverting the course of justice, with Sir Brian Leveson telling the court there was no “irregularity with the trail”.
“It is a tragedy that she has damaged, probably irreparably, a promising political career, but there is absolutely no basis for challenging her conviction,” he said.
The decision means a recall petition will now be opened in Onasanya’s constituency. If 10% of the electorate – around 7,000 people – sign it within six weeks, Onasanya will lose her seat and a by-election will be triggered.
Commons speaker John Bercow told MPs he would write to the relevant petition office to confirm she was subject to a recall petition.
However, 35-year-old Onasanya – who vowed to sit as an independent MP in the Commons after being expelled from the Labour Party over her conviction – could still stand as a candidate in the by-election.
Labour is among those calling for the resignation of the MP, who was elected for the party in the 2017 general election. Speaking on Tuesday, a Labour spokesperson said Onasanya’s refusal to resign “continues to let the voters of Peterborough down”.
“She must now do the decent thing and go,” they added. Labour is already campaigning for candidate Lisa Forbes in the seat.
Onasanya was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in December after the Old Bailey heard she had lied to police about who was behind the wheel of her car when it was caught doing 41mph in a 30mph zone.
She named her brother’s friend as the guilty driver, but it was later revealed he was in Russia visiting his parents at the time of the incident in July 2017.
Onasanya was later sentenced to three months behind bars, but was released in February after serving four weeks of her sentence.
Only MPs who receive a sentence of 12 months or more are automatically dismissed under parliamentary rules.