MP murdered
Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 9:04 am
Sir David Amess: MP murder suspect held under Terrorism Act
The day started out much like every other Friday morning for Sir David Amess. One of Essex's most longstanding MPs, he held meetings with his Southend constituents every second week, in recent years varying the location to meet more of the local residents that relied upon his help.
This week he was at the Belfairs Methodist Church in his home town of Leigh-on-Sea. He tweeted on Tuesday about the upcoming event inviting constituents to join him.
Sir David was known for being passionate about his job - and constituents and colleagues spoke of his boundless enthusiasm for his role. These constituency surgeries were at the heart of his political life.
Just 15 minutes before the attack, the 69-year-old father of five was spotted standing on the church steps, chatting and laughing with locals.
At around 12.05pm, accompanied by two female members of his staff and nearing the end of the drop-in event, Sir David entered the church to meet some more constituents, where he may have noticed the inscription: "All are welcome here: where old friends meet and strangers feel at home."
Local councillor John Lamb said that it was at this point that the attacker emerged from a small group of waiting constituents and attacked Mr Amess, stabbing him several times.
"I'm told that when he went in for his surgery there were people waiting to see him, and one of them literally got a knife out and just began stabbing him," Mr Lamb said.
Lee Jordison, who works at the nearby Hicks Butchers, told the PA news agency: "We could see a police cordon set up... (someone outside) told me a woman had come out screaming on the phone, saying 'someone's been stabbed, please get here soon', he's not breathing'."
Police arrived on the scene shortly after the stabbing, and arrested a 25-year-old man and recovered the knife used in the attack. At 1.50pm, Essex police confirmed that the man had been arrested in connection with the stabbing.
One witness, electrician Anthony Fitch, told Sky News that he had witnessed the man being led from the church and being put in the back of a police car.
"We arrived to do some work on the adjacent building... and at the point when I was crossing the road I saw an upset lady on the phone saying 'you need to arrive quickly, he's still in the building,'" he said.
"There were loads of armed police, overhead there was an air ambulance as well as a police helicopter. Obviously wondered what the hell was going on, you don't often see armed police around the local area.
"I saw the suspect get put into a police van, get taken away and then they cordoned the whole road and pushed us all down the road."
The man arrested by police following the killing of the MP Sir David Amess has been named as Ali Harbi Ali.
The 25-year-old is being held under the Terrorism Act and officers have until Friday to question him.
The BBC understands Mr Ali was referred to the counter-terrorist Prevent scheme some years ago, but was never a formal subject of interest to MI5.
Whitehall officials told the BBC that the man being held was Ali Harbi Ali, a British man of Somali heritage.
Police said a man, who was held on suspicion of the MP's murder in Essex on Friday, was now being held at London police station after being rearrested under the Terrorism Act.
Early investigations revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamic extremism, police said on Friday.
Officials do not believe anyone else was involved in the attack.
Sir David, who had been a Conservative MP since 1983 and represented the Southend West constituency, was stabbed multiple times as he held a regular Friday meeting with constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea.
It is thought Mr Ali did not spend long in the Prevent programme - which aims to stop people becoming radicalised.
Teachers, members of the public, the NHS and others can refer individuals to a local panel of police, social workers and other experts who decide whether and how to intervene in their lives.
Engagement in the scheme is voluntary and it is not a criminal sanction.
