A LABOUR MP told a Bournemouth Crown Court judge the jailing of her son for drugs offences would be "like a bereavement", it has been revealed.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Kate Osamor's son Ishmael, 29, admitted selling class As at Dorset festival Bestival in 2017.

Ms Osamor was forced to resign from her role as shadow international development secretary after she claimed to not know the details of her son's court case until after he was sentenced.

However, it later emerged that she had written a letter to Judge Stephen Climie begging for Osamor to be spared a prison sentence.

That letter, written on House of Commons-headed notepaper, has now been made public by Judge Climie after a challenge by a number of media organisations, including the Evening Standard.

Those organisations have now printed the letter in full.

In it, according to the Standard, Ms Osamor says her son is a "vital pillar" in the local community and said: "The thought of you taking my son into custody feels like a bereavement, he is such a positive force in my life".

A journalist from a national newspaper visited the MP at her home to ask about her son's conviction.

She allegedly threw a bucket of water at him and called the police, accusing him of stalking her.

In a statement on Monday, she tweeted that she would "like to apologise if any of my actions or words have been misinterpreted by others in any way over recent months".

She added: "The issue concerning my son was and remains a private family matter. Nothing that my son did had impacted upon his work in my office or upon my work within the constituency.

"I am concerned and disappointed by the selective reporting of the facts which has taken place by the media, such that potential legal proceedings may follow.

"I would like to put this ordeal behind me so that I can focus upon my family and continue to serve my constituency to the very best of my ability. I do not have anything more to say at this point."

Osamor admitted four counts of possession with intent to supply cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and cannabis.

On October 19 last year he was sentenced to a two-year community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and up to 20 rehabilitation activity days, and ordered to pay £400 prosecution costs.

Prosecutors accepted Osamor was looking after the drugs for friends and was not selling them.

Following his conviction, he stood down as a Labour councillor in the London borough of Haringey.

However, Ms Osamor has faced questions as to why she continued to employ him as a member of staff in her parliamentary office in the House of Commons.