James McMurdock: Reform UK MP jailed for assaulting girlfriend 18 years ago

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A Reform UK MP, jailed 18 years ago for assaulting his girlfriend, has faced scrutiny after failing to disclose his conviction before being elected.

The Times revealed James McMurdock was sentenced to 21 days in a young offenders' institution for kicking his then-partner “around four times.” The conviction surfaced in July when the victim’s mother told Mail Online that McMurdock “left marks on her body” and required two security guards to stop the attack outside a Chelmsford nightclub.

Initially, McMurdock described the incident as the “deepest regret of my life” but downplayed it as a “teenage indiscretion.” In his 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.”

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Court records confirmed McMurdock pleaded guilty to assault by beating. His sentence was not suspended due to the “serious nature of the offence,” with reports indicating a “lack of willingness to comply” at the time.

James McMurdock was sentenced to 21 days in a young offenders' institution for kicking his then-partner “around four times.”James McMurdock was sentenced to 21 days in a young offenders' institution for kicking his then-partner “around four times.”
James McMurdock was sentenced to 21 days in a young offenders' institution for kicking his then-partner “around four times.” | SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

The Times obtained these details after Essex Police refused to release case documents under freedom of information laws, citing data protection and potential prejudice to crime detection. The newspaper successfully applied to the courts for the sentencing record.

Labour MP Nadia Whittome criticised McMurdock and Reform UK for failing to disclose the conviction. She said: “Neither he nor his party (which knew) 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.’”

McMurdock narrowly won the Basildon and East Thurrock seat in this year’s election, defeating Conservative candidate Stephen Metcalfe by just 98 votes. Reform UK and McMurdock have not commented, as well as Essex Police.

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