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Post by Admin on Oct 16, 2021 2:05:05 GMT
Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed multiple times at his constituency surgery in Essex. Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. They recovered a knife and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. A counter-terrorism team will lead the investigation. Boris Johnson has spoken of his shock and sadness at the loss of "one of the kindest" people in politics. Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked all police forces to review security arrangements for MPs "with immediate effect", a Home Office spokesman said. Sir David, 69, had been an MP since 1983 and was married with five children. He is the second serving MP to be killed in the past five years, following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016. She was killed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery. The investigation into the attack will be led by the Metropolitan Police's specialist Counter Terrorism Command, who will determine whether it was a terrorist incident. A government source told the BBC the man arrested was a British national who, according to initial inquiries, is of Somali heritage. The prime minister said Sir David had an "outstanding record of passing laws to help the most vulnerable". "David was a man who believed passionately in this country and in its future. We've lost today a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague," said Mr Johnson. Police have appealed for anyone who saw the attack, or who has footage from CCTV, dash cams or video doorbell to contact them. Southend councillor John Lamb told the BBC that Sir David moved his surgeries to different locations around the constituency "to meet the people" and said the attack was "absolutely dreadful". "We've lost a very good, hard working constituency MP who worked for everyone," he said.
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Post by Admin on Oct 17, 2021 21:25:13 GMT
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. Whitehall officials confirmed the man's name to the BBC, and said he was a British man of Somali heritage. 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. It also understands that his father, Harbi Ali Kullane, who was previously an adviser to Somalia's prime minister, has been visited by police who have taken his phone for analysis. Sir David, who had been a Conservative MP since 1983, was stabbed multiple times during a regular Friday meeting with his Southend West constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Southend councillor John Lamb said he has since spoken to two of Sir David's assistants who were at the constituency surgery with Sir David at the time of the attack. He described how one was in the room with Sir David taking notes. "All of a sudden there was a scream from her, because the person deliberately whipped out a knife and started stabbing David," he said. "The other lady who was getting names from people outside, she came running in and saw poor David had been stabbed." He said both were quite distressed but were "coping quite well" under the circumstances. Catholic priest Father Jeff Woolnough said he tried to administer last rites to Sir David shortly after the stabbing but police told him he could not enter a crime scene. Instead, he prayed for his friend on the street behind a police cordon. Early investigations revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamic extremism, police said. It is thought Ali Harbi 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.
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