Nigel Farage has said a Reform UK MP who was jailed for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend deserves “Christian forgiveness”.
The party leader said James McMurdock, who claimed after being elected that he had “pushed” a partner after a previous assault conviction was revealed, has “been forgiven”.
It emerged that Mr McMurdock was jailed 18 years ago for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend, after The Times applied to the courts for information from the official record of his sentencing.
He did not publicly disclose his conviction for assault before being elected and claimed he had “pushed” his partner when details were first revealed this summer.
His sentencing record said he was detained in a young offenders’ institution for 21 days for kicking the victim “around four times”.
The conviction came to light in July when the victim’s mother told Mail Online he had “left marks on her body” and “it took two security guards to pull him off her” during the attack outside a nightclub in Chelmsford, Essex.
At the time, Mr McMurdock apologised for what he described as the “biggest regret of my life” but downplayed the assault as a “teenage indiscretion” and disputed the details of the mother’s account.
In a statement, he said: “A generous person might call it a teenage indiscretion, but I do not expect everyone to be so kind.
“Nearly 20 years ago, at 19 years of age, at the end of a night out together, we argued 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 of that moment and apologetic.”
Mr McMurdock pleaded guilty to assault by beating, according to the court records.
The MP’s sentence was not suspended “in light of the serious nature of the offence”, the records say.
A pre-sentence report indicated a “lack of willingness to comply”.
Asked about the revelation on Thursday, Mr Farage said the South Basildon and East Thurrock MP deserved a second chance.
He said: “I believe in Christian forgiveness. Christian forgiveness, the rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
“It was a long time ago. He’s been forgiven, all sorts of people might get second chances, but we are going to set a very very high standard (for candidates).”
But, when the news of his sentencing came to light, Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome said: “Neither he nor his party disclosed the conviction at the election. This man belongs nowhere near law-making and power.
“The refusal to be properly accountable is disturbing… The passive ‘she fell over and she was hurt’.”
Mr McMurdock won his seat by just 98 votes. He has been contacted for comment.
