内容摘要："We normally perform at Swindon Arts Centre and the Wyvern Theatre, and it's really exciting to be able to do something somewhere new.

"We normally perform at Swindon Arts Centre and the Wyvern Theatre, and it's really exciting to be able to do something somewhere new.

Amesbury defended continuing to take his MP wages - despite not appearing in House of Commons debates since the video of him punching Mr Fellows first surfaced in October 2024.He told the BBC he carried out casework for his constituents, even while behind bars.

"I actually picked up some casework in prison," Amesbury said, as his office manager forwarded on "correspondence"."Life doesn't stop as an MP," he added.Amesbury spent three nights in jail following his 10-week sentence being handed down at Chester Magistrates' Court on 24 February.

Chester Crown Court later suspended his sentence, allowing him to serve his time in the community instead of behind bars.As part of his suspended sentence, Amesbury must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, undertake an alcohol monitoring programme, go on an anger management course and carry out 20 days of rehabilitation work.

Campaigners had called for Amesbury to be stripped of his wages during his trial and imprisonment.

The Independent Parliament Standards Authority (IPSA), which regulates MPs' pay, said the rules mean that until a member is suspended as a result of a House of Commons disciplinary procedure they must be paid their salary."If we had people who went to prison who didn't get drugs and weren't intimidated by serious organised criminals, they'd be far more likely to engage with a sentence and get well enough so that when they leave they don't commit further crime."

The government has commissioned an independent sentencing review to explore alternatives to prison in an attempt to ease overcrowding. The review will provide long-term solutions for the justice system and examine the use and composition of non-custodial sentences, including community alternatives to prison and the use of fines. Increased tagging will also be considered.The total number of people fitted with an electronic monitoring device in England and Wales on 30 June 2024 was 20,893, an increase of 17% on the previous year.

There are three types of ankle tags currently used to monitor offenders: alcohol, GPS, and curfew tags. A new study suggests tags that monitor curfews cut reoffending by 20%."We want them to have a one-way ticket - not a return back into prison or back into non-custodial sentences," Lord Timpson says.