69-Year-Old Lawmaker Stabbed to Death in His Constituency

Sir David Amess a member of parliament who represented Southend West in Essex, died after being stabbed at a surgery in his constituency.

He was attacked shortly after midday on Friday at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea.

A 25-year-old British citizen with Somali heritage was immediately arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

A knife was recovered at the scene.

Essex Police chief constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “The investigation is in the very early stages and is being led by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist counter terror command.

“We made it clear at the time of the incident that we did not believe there was any immediate threat to anyone else in the area.

“It will be for investigators to determine whether or not this may have been a terrorist incident. As always they will keep an open mind.”

Sky News understands a man walked into Sir David’s constituency surgery and stabbed him multiple times, with the MP said to have suffered more than a dozen wounds.

Tributes have been paid to the long-serving MP from across the political spectrum, including from all five surviving former prime ministers; Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major.

Boris Johnson described Sir David as “one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics”, as the current prime minister paid tribute to his “outstanding” campaigning work on endometriosis, animal cruelty and fuel poverty.

“David was a man who believed passionately in this country and its future,” Mr Johnson said. “We’ve lost today a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague.”

The prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, posted on Twitter: “Absolutely devastating news about Sir David Amess.

“He was hugely kind and good. An enormous animal lover and a true gent. This is so completely unjust.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described a “dark and shocking day” as he urged people to “come together in response to these horrendous events”.

“The whole country will feel it acutely, perhaps the more so because we have, heartbreakingly, been here before,” he said.

“We will show once more that violence, intimidation and threats to our democracy will never prevail over the tireless commitment of public servants simply doing their jobs.”