Reform MP James McMurdock jailed for repeatedly kicking girlfriend, court records show | Politics news

On November 29, 2024By Littum

A reform MP was jailed 18 years ago for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend, newly released court records have revealed.

James McMurdock, 38, the new MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend in 2006 while drunk outside a nightclub.

He spent 21 days in a young offenders’ institution after admitting the attack.

Before being elected as an MP, the investment banker had not made public the conviction and when it emerged in July that he had been jailed for assaulting his girlfriend when he was 19, he downplayed the incident as a “teenage indiscretion”.

But further details of what happened during the incident have now emerged afterwards The Times requested the court for information from the official record.

It says he received the prison sentence for “kicking” the victim “about four times”, The Times reports.

The judge’s sentencing remarks state that he was given 21 days in an institution for young offenders and “the sentence was not suspended in light of the serious nature of the offence”.

It said the offense “requires immediate punishment” and a pre-sentence report indicated a “lack of will to comply”.

The report said there was “limited credit for guilty plea, plea entered late, would have been 28 days”.

MPs do not have to disclose previous convictions to the public when they stand, with only people in prison at the time of election for a sentence of more than a year barred.

McMurdock’s victim’s mother brought the incident to light a week after his election, saying he “left marks on her body” and “it took two security guards to pull him off her”.

When the allegations were revealed, McMurdock said the pair had argued and he had pushed her.

A spokesman for Reform UK said at the time that they were aware of his conviction and prison sentence.

But they said the MP “absolutely denies allegations that he either kicked, stamped or punched the victim, although he accepts he pushed her, she fell and was injured”.

McMurdock told Sky News at the time: “While I absolutely deny the horrific details of this tale, there is one truth to it that I cannot and will not deny or hide from.

“A generous person might call it a teenage indiscretion, but I don’t expect everyone to be so kind.

“Almost 20 years ago, as a 19-year-old, at the end of a night together, we had an argument and I pushed her. She fell over and she was hurt. Despite being 38 now and having lived a whole life again, I still feel deeply ashamed and apologetic.

“Despite the fact that we were both very drunk, I handed myself over to the police immediately and admitted my guilt. I was charged for what I did, not what has been alleged, and I saw the consequences then and paid for my action in full.”

He said the “shame” of that night “led me to turn my life around” and he now has a wife and four children and is expecting a fifth in February.

“I am surrounded by women on both sides of our family who love me and are proud of the man I am today,” he said.

“This is the biggest regret of my life and I wish I could go back in time and fix things.”

The MP said he hopes people believe him when he says he knows “what growth and redemption feels like in ways that many others don’t”.

And he said it’s only by being honest about “my mistakes” that he’s been able to move on, and he hopes his victim can too.

“To this day, I am deeply sorry for the damage I caused on that cold, drunken night 20 years ago,” he added.

Sky News has contacted Reform UK, McMurdock and Essex Police for comment.