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Murder of David Amess

Coordinates: 51°33′36″N 0°39′03″E / 51.5599°N 0.6508°E / 51.5599; 0.6508
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Killing of David Amess
Belfairs Methodist Church, the site of the attack
LocationBelfairs Methodist Church, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England
Coordinates51°33′36″N 0°39′03″E / 51.5599°N 0.6508°E / 51.5599; 0.6508
Date15 October 2021 (2021-10-15)
c. 12:05 BST (UTC+1)
WeaponsKnife
VictimDavid Amess
AccusedUnnamed 25-year-old man

On 15 October 2021, Sir David Amess, a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West, died after being stabbed multiple times during a constituency meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. A 25-year-old man, reportedly a British Somali, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. Police said that they were investigating the stabbing as a terrorist incident.

The incident was the first killing of a sitting British MP since the murder of Jo Cox in June 2016.

Background

Amess in 2020

Sir David Amess was a long-serving politician who entered Parliament in 1983 as MP for Basildon. He had held no senior positions within the party or government, but he was an "instantly recognisable" member of the Conservative Party and had been knighted for his commitment to public service. He was said to have been socially conservative and held relatively centrist views; he notably opposed abortion and campaigned in favour of Brexit, for stronger animal welfare protections, and to award city status to Southend-on-Sea.[1][2][3][4]

Following the murder of Jo Cox while on her way to meet constituents at a constituency surgery in 2016, Amess said in his 2020 autobiography that fears of similar attacks "rather spoilt the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians" and that he had faced harassment and insecurity at his home.[1][4][5] MPs are protected by armed police when inside Parliament, with security being tightened after the 2017 Westminster attack. However, they are generally not given police protection during surgeries, and they are normally accompanied by one member of staff only.[6][7][8] After Cox's murder, parliamentary spending on MPs' personal security rose from under £200,000 to £4.5 million in two years.[4]

Attack

On 15 October 2021, 69-year-old Amess was at a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church on Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, where he was scheduled to meet with constituents from 10:00 to 13:00 BST.[9][10][11] He first met with constituents on the steps of the church and entered the building at around 12:05 to speak with people who had arrived earlier. Inside the church, a man armed with a knife emerged from the group of constituents and stabbed him multiple times.[12][13]

Police were alerted to the attack shortly after it occurred, and armed police, as well as medical and police helicopters, responded to the scene. The suspect was arrested inside the church before being taken away, after which a police cordon was set up. An air ambulance landed on a nearby playing field at 14:13 to take Amess to hospital. However, the medical team already at the scene decided that Amess's condition was not stable enough to transport him and continued to work at the scene instead. He died just before 15:00.[4][9][12][14]

Investigation

Counter-terrorist police officers are involved in the early stages of the investigation.[15] Essex Police said a "25-year-old man was quickly arrested after officers arrived at the scene on suspicion of murder and a knife was recovered".[15][16][17] At around 18:32 on 15 October, Essex Police announced that the investigation had been handed over to counter-terrorist officers.[18] Later in the day, the BBC reported that a government source said the suspect is a British national who may have Somali heritage.[4]

At around 00:30 on 16 October, police declared the stabbing a terrorist incident. The attack had "a potential motivation linked to Islamic extremism", according to officers.[7][19]

Reactions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to Westminster in the wake of the attack, where flags were lowered to half-mast.[20] Various parliamentary groups, and current and former politicians from across the political spectrum expressed shock and offered condolences, as did relatives of Jo Cox and international politicians. Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer released a statement calling the event "a dark and shocking day".[21] A vigil for Amess was held in his Southend West constituency at 18:00 on the day of his death. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, announced that the security of MPs will be reviewed.[11][18][22] The Conservatives,[23] Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party suspended political campaigning. First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon described it as "awful beyond words".[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sangal, Aditi; Wagner, Meg; Macaya, Melissa; Mahtani, Melissa (15 October 2021). "Amess was not a man "who voiced extremist opinions," CNN reporter says". CNN. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  2. ^ Davies, Caroline (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess profile: Eurosceptic MP with a passion for animal welfare". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ^ Landale, James; Wheeler, Brian (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: Fun, friendly and always outspoken". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lee, Joseph (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: Conservative MP stabbed to death". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (15 October 2021). "David Amess: Stabbed MP wrote in book that attacks 'could happen to any of us'". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  6. ^ Kearney, Jo; Lawless, Jill (15 October 2021). "Authorities call fatal stabbing of UK lawmaker terrorist act". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b Specia, Megan; Landler, Mark; Castle, Stephen (15 October 2021). "Longtime U.K. Lawmaker Stabbed to Death in Attack Labeled Terrorism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  8. ^ Ross, Jamie (15 October 2021). "Stabbing Murder of British Politician Declared Terrorist Act". Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b Walker, Peter; Dodd, Vikram (15 October 2021). "Conservative MP David Amess stabbed in Essex attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  10. ^ Emes, Toby (15 October 2021). "Police presence near Belfairs Methodist Church, Leigh". Echo News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Alexander; Arisekola, Segilola (15 October 2021). "U.K. lawmaker stabbed to death while meeting with voters; incident declared terrorism". NBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  12. ^ a b Murphy, Matt; Casciani, Dominic (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: How a tragic day unfolded". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  13. ^ McGuinness, Alan (15 October 2021). "Conservative MP Sir David Amess stabbed multiple times in incident at constituency surgery". Sky News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Sir David Amess stabbing: What we know so far". BBC News. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  15. ^ a b Dearden, Lizzie; Bancroft, Holly (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess death: Conservative MP dies after being stabbed at constituency surgery". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  16. ^ Robertson, Nic; Picheta, Rob; Shelley, Jo (15 October 2021). "Fatal stabbing of British lawmaker David Amess called terrorist incident by UK police". CNN. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Sir David Amess: Latest after Conservative MP killed in stabbing attack". BBC News. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  18. ^ a b Badshah, Nadeem; Rawlinson, Kevin (15 October 2021). "David Amess: home secretary asks police to review security measures after MP's stabbing– as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  19. ^ Faulkner, Doug (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess killing was terrorist incident, say police". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Flags flown at half mast in tribute to murdered British lawmaker". 15 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021 – via www.reuters.com.
  21. ^ Starmer, Keir (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess". Twitter. Retrieved 16 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Colleagues, royals and PMs remember David Amess". CBC News. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  23. ^ Dowden, Oliver [@OliverDowden] (15 October 2021). "In light of today's tragic events we have decided it is appropriate to suspend all of our campaigning activities across the UK until further notice" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2021 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Sturgeon, Nicola [@nicolasturgeon] (15 October 2021). "This is awful beyond words. My thoughts and deepest condolences are with David's family, friends and colleagues. May he rest in peace" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 October 2021 – via Twitter.
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