A friend of suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury told GB News that he was subjected to a lengthy “wind up” before he threw punches at a man in the street.

Former Labour adviser Matthew Torbitt said: “I know Mike quite well and when I heard the news on Saturday morning, I was devastated to be honest with you, because I cannot put into words how out of character this is.

“…he’s gentle, he’s very kind, he’s very laid back. I spoke to him over the weekend. I won’t divulge private conversations, from what I can gather from other people there was a sustained wind up, a personal attack that evening by said individual in the videos.

“However, no one can make any excuse for the reaction it has provoked. Unfortunately, you can’t go around doing things like that no matter how wound up you are.

“And I’m just really sad to see someone I see as a sort of soft left pragmatist, someone that’s quite sensible, I think, in their politics and not a bit of a head-banger on the left.

“He’s probably ruined his life in one semi-drunken decision.”

He added: “My advice, unless it was to ensure he can get as much money out of it for his family as possible, was to resign this morning, not let it drag on.

“Whether he does that or not, I don’t know. I think the bigger fear is that he will, quite possibly, likely face prison time for this. It was a sustained attack.

“I just feel for him and his family, and people may get annoyed with me saying that, what about the fella on the floor, but this is one mistake. He was totally stupid.

“…Mike’s a working-class lad from Wythenshawe, was a councillor for a bit, worked for Ange [Rayner] and then got in. One of those normal blokes I’ve come across in politics.

“Can they handle sometimes the pressure of the coarsening of public debate? I’m not sure. We don’t help ourselves in public sometimes.”