13 April 2022 | NEWS
Ali Harbi Ali has been given a whole-life sentence after being found guilty of murder and preparing terrorist acts over his killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in October 2021.
The MP was stabbed more than 20 times by the Islamist while holding a constituency surgery in his seat of Southend West, which he had represented since 1997.
Ali murdered Amess, a devout Catholic, in Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, where the surgery was held.
The 26-year-old attacker told the court he also had plans to target other MPs, including senior Cabinet Minister Michael Gove.
Following Ali’s sentencing, the murdered MP’s family released a statement through the Met Police, which read: “It breaks our heart to know that our husband and father would have greeted the murderer with a smile of friendship and would have been anxious to help.
“How sickening to think what happened next. It is beyond evil.”
The judge presiding over the trial, Mr Justice Sweeney, said: “The defendant has no remorse or shame for what he has done – quite the reverse.”
He described Amess’ murder as a loss “of national significance” and added that “he had done nothing whatsoever to justify the attack upon him, let alone his murder”.
“On the contrary, he had devoted 38 years of his life to the lawful service of the public, and was engaged in doing so when he was murdered.”
When Amess was killed, it was the second case of an MP being murdered in 5 years.
In 2016, Labour MP Jo Cox was killed one week before the referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU.
The murder of Amess has contributed to an ongoing debate around online safety, as well as the Government’s Online Safety Bill.
In the wake of the incident, Conservative MP Mark Francois argued that the Government needs to toughen up the Bill to prevent social media trolls from abusing MPs online.
He said: “In the last few years, David had become increasingly concerned about what he called the toxic environment in which MPs, particularly female MPs, were having to operate in.”
“I suggest that if we want to ensure that our colleague didn’t die in vain, we collectively, all of us, pick up the baton, regardless of our party, and take the forthcoming Online Harms Bill and toughen it up markedly,” he added.
Mr Justice Sweeney said that Ali had read extensive online Islamic State propaganda and answered their call for ‘lone wolf’ attacks, saying: “This was a murder that struck at the heart of our democracy.”
He added that the murder and the motives behind it were so serious “that the defendant must be kept in prison for the rest of his life”.
