Jared O'Mara

Early life O'Mara was born in Sheffield on 15 November 1981. He was educated at Tapton School, in the city's Crosspool suburb, and graduated from University of Staffordshire with a first class honours degree in journalism.

Before entering politics, he ran West Street Live, a bar and music venue in Sheffield, with friends. He was also a local school governor and had volunteered for Sheffield-based disability information services and charities. He supported Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party in 2015 and 2016. At the 2017 general election, O'Mara was selected for the constituency of Sheffield Hallam in an emergency selection process for the snap election under the control of the National Executive Committee and regional boards, rather than by the local constituency party. The seat had been held by former Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

O'Mara's campaign focused on disabled people's rights, protecting public services and on his personal background in Sheffield. It was claimed Nick Clegg was thought to be too anti-Brexit by voters, although Sheffield Hallam was estimated to have voted Remain in the 2016 European Union referendum and O'Mara also supported Remain. He won the seat with a majority of 2,125 votes, overturning Clegg's previous majority of 2,353 votes. The result was considered one of the most important seat changes of the night; O'Mara had not expected to win the seat. His acceptance speech called for politicians to do more to stand up for disabled people.

O'Mara asked his first Parliamentary written question in October 2017. During his time as an MP, he campaigned for a second referendum on Brexit and against fracking. He never asked an oral question in the House of Commons. However, a series of misogynistic and homophobic online comments posted by O'Mara over a decade before he became an MP were revealed by the Guido Fawkes site on 23 October 2017. He commented about the Girls Aloud pop group: "I advise you to sack Sarah and the remaining four members (Nicola, Cheryl, Nadine and Kimberley) come have an orgy with me"; and said the 2003 winner of Pop Idol, Michelle McManus, had "only won because she was fat". He had also referred to gay men as "poofters" and "fudge packers", and referred to jazz musician Jamie Cullum as a "conceited cunt" who should be "sodomised with his own piano". O'Mara apologised "if his comments caused offence" and resigned from the Women and Equalities Select Committee.

The following day, O'Mara was accused by Sophie Evans, a Sheffield bar worker whom he had met through an online dating app, on BBC Two's Daily Politics of having "made transphobic slurs" towards her in March 2017, and of saying in the same incident that she was an "ugly bitch". O'Mara denied the allegation. On the same day, it also emerged that he had been posting derogatory comments about children in Sheffield and appeared to advocate corporal punishment to deal with delinquent youth. Following the emergence of the comments to Evans, the Labour Party announced an investigation into O'Mara's conduct but stopped short of suspending him from the party.

Further revelations were made public on 25 October 2017. He was found to have used racist insults on a Morrissey fan site in 2002, saying that Danes were "pig shaggers" who "practised bestiality" and referring to Spaniards as "dagos". O'Mara, when reviewing the Arctic Monkeys in November 2004, made several sexual comments including how "sexy little slags" danced to the band's songs. These revelations resulted in O'Mara being suspended from the Labour Party and therefore having the party whip withdrawn. It also came to light that O'Mara was a member of a band called Dirty Rotten Troubadours. A song by the band emerged, allegedly sung by O'Mara, contained the lyrics: "I wish I were a misogynist / I'd put her in her place / I wish I were a misogynist / I'd smash her in her face."

Disabilities O'Mara has stated that he has cerebral palsy and hemiparesis. In June 2017, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow allowed MPs not to wear ties in the House of Commons, a decision welcomed by O'Mara, who stated that cerebral palsy made it difficult for him to knot and wear a tie.

After three months' absence, O'Mara returned to the House of Commons on 17 January 2018 and voted on the report stage of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

On 18 July 2018, O'Mara announced he would step back from his parliamentary duties on the advice of his GP. This coincided with a series of crucial votes on the Brexit negotiations, for which reason O'Mara had unsuccessfully applied to vote by proxy. He was ranked by constituents across the United Kingdom as the 5th-worst sitting MP by a Change.org poll in 2019.

Reinstatement and resignation from Labour Party On 3 July 2018, it was announced that O'Mara would be readmitted to the Labour Party, following a review by its National Executive Committee disputes panel. This review had decided to issue O'Mara a formal warning with a mandatory requirement to attend training, rather than refer the issue to the National Constitutional Committee which has the power to expel members. The decision was criticised by local Liberal Democrats, the closest challengers to Labour in Sheffield Hallam. In an interview with ITV following his readmission, O'Mara said he had made three attempts on his life during his suspension and had developed an anxiety disorder. He restated his apology and asked for forgiveness from his constituents and the country. He refused to call a by-election and promised to make his maiden speech in July 2018. the day before the start of the summer recess. He was the 84th and final MP of the 2017 intake to make a maiden speech; the 83rd, David Duguid, spoke in November 2017.

On 12 July 2018, O'Mara announced his resignation from the Labour Party. He said that he had "not been listened to or given a fair investigation" following his suspension, and that the party "no longer shares [his] commitment to the true definition of equality and compassion." Despite his resignation, the Labour Party affirmed that it would continue to provide support for O'Mara; this was on the orders of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was concerned for O'Mara's welfare. In October 2018, O'Mara said the Labour Party had only made one adjustment for him, namely moving his office closer to the Commons chamber.

In a July 2019 statement, O'Mara said he had never been reinstated to the party, and that Corbyn had made "false reports about me being a mental health danger around parliament" after O'Mara had complained about not being able to arrange a meeting with the former's office. O'Mara's mother wrote to the court in June 2019 to say that her son was "destitute and penniless".

On 24 April 2019, O'Mara suspended constituent casework for a month, pending the move to a new constituency office and recruitment of new staff to replace the loss of his original team.

Sexual harassment allegation On 27 July 2019, it was reported that O'Mara had sexually harassed a 20-year-old employee. O'Mara had sent WhatsApp messages to the employee, often late at night, in which he revealed his love for her, calling her "an angel", "a delicate little flower" and "effortlessly pretty". In a separate message to his constituency staff, O'Mara accused the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for his seat of believing in eugenics, and claimed that she had repressed sexual feelings for him.

Allegations of corruption Following the staff resignations, in May 2019, O'Mara hired blogger and digital marketer Gareth Arnold as his new chief of staff. Under the pseudonyms 'Gareth Arnoult' and 'Geoff Stevens', Arnold had previously achieved some internet notability for setting up popular satirical fake news sites Britain Furst (satirising Britain First) and BFNN, and for a legal dispute with LADBible which the group withdrew. Arnold and O'Mara first met when O'Mara was managing the West Street Live bar, before his election.

On 23 July 2019, Arnold announced his resignation on O'Mara's Twitter account and criticised the MP. Arnold said that O'Mara was "the most disgustingly morally bankrupt person [he had] ever had the displeasure of working with" and had shown "vile, inexcusable contempt" for his constituents. He told O'Mara to call a by-election.

On 25 July 2019, O'Mara released a public statement, apologising "to everybody for everything". He said that he had been "bullied and mistreated" and "wasn't even meant to win the election", and claimed to have received "no support" from the Labour Party for his campaign. He said that he would be "taking time out to...deal with my mental health and personal issues regarding self-medication".

Arnold referred O'Mara to the police in July 2019 over his expenses, after which the police raided O'Mara's office, seizing documents and computers. In the criminal prosecution after O'Mara left office, Arnold was jointly charged with six of O'Mara's fraud offences.

Standing down In July 2019, O'Mara said he would stand for re-election at the next general election, but later said he would stand down from the House of Commons after the 2019 parliamentary summer recess. He voted for the "Letwin amendment" and against the government during the special sitting of Parliament on 19 October 2019. Postponing his resignation until after October 2019, he eventually stood down at the December 2019 general election. He was succeeded as MP for Sheffield Hallam by Olivia Blake, the Labour Party candidate.

After leaving Parliament Revocation of parliamentary pass In April 2021, the Parliamentary Independent Expert Panel, which determines "appeals and sanctions in cases where complaints have been brought against MPs of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct", removed O'Mara's right to hold a parliamentary pass, meaning that he lost access to the Palace of Westminster. The report found that Ms Jennifer Barnes, who reported him, "felt and was subject to escalating behaviours that constitute sexual harassment" by O'Mara, and determined that

Criminal prosecution On 19 August 2021, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that O'Mara had been charged with seven counts of fraud by false representation. On 24 September 2021, O'Mara pleaded not guilty to those counts and an additional charge under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Arnold, who referred O'Mara to the police for the expenses in July 2019, The court was shown messages between Arnold and O'Mara referencing O'Mara "do[ing] cocaine instead of going to Parliament".

£19,400 of the claims related to a fictitious charity, Confident About Autism South Yorkshire; Additionally, O'Mara was accused of submitting to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority two invoices from Arnold for work he never completed.

In his examination, Arnold told the court that O'Mara's election was "a massive shock", and that the MP became convinced that the Speaker, John Bercow, "had it in for him" and refused his expenses. Arnold said that the work he provided O'Mara was genuine, and that he would offer O'Mara media training by roleplaying as Jeremy Paxman. His second invoice was a "retainer" so that O'Mara could call him at any time. He said that he decided to resign after suspecting that O'Mara had drunk a litre of vodka before a BBC Look North interview that Arnold had arranged. Arnold also told the court that O'Mara had submitted subject access requests to the Labour Party and Unite the Union, with a view to suing them under data protection law. The defence further asked jurors to consider the effects of his mental health and autism.

On 8 February 2023, O'Mara was found guilty of six counts of fraud, and not guilty of two counts. Arnold was found guilty on three counts of fraud, and not guilty on a further three. On 26 September 2023, O'Mara's appeal against his sentence was denied by the Court of Appeal.