The terror suspect accused of stabbing to death Sir David Amess will appear at the Old Bailey today.
Ali Harbi Ali, 25, was arrested for the murder of the veteran Southend West MP.
He was taken into custody after a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday. The court heard Ali plotted to kill a MP two years prior. He initially focused on Sir David but then changed his mind and settled on Ali.
The veteran MP was declared dead at the scene at 1.10pm. A preliminary post-mortem report indicated multiple stab wounds in the chest.
Detectives found evidence that Ali carried out reconnaissance at two of their homes, as well as the surgery of another. The Houses of Parliament were also visited by Ali. He was seen outside the residence of one politician in March and June and July but was not sure if the address was correct.
Ali is said to have viewed the Houses of Parliament and decided that an attack there would not be practical because of the high level security. He was also spotted outside a constituency surgery of another MP last month.
Prosecutors claim Ali was associated with Islamic State and targeted Sid David over his voting record in support for air strikes on Syria.
According to some reports, Ali was prepared for terrorist acts between May 1, 2019, and September 28, 2019. Ali was dressed in a grey tracksuit and thick-rimmed, black glasses when he entered the courtroom. He sat silently for the rest of yesterday’s hearing and only spoke to confirm his name, address, and age.
Ali Harbi Ali (25), has been charged with the murder of Sir David Amess during a meeting with his Southend West constituents Friday afternoon. Yesterday, he was charged with murdering Sir David Amess as he met with his Southend West constituents.
Police and intelligence officials are still puzzled by the attack on Sir David, a former Tory politician. Investigators believe that there may not have been a motive for Sir David’s murder. Instead, the alleged killer managed to book a face-to-face meeting at Leigh-on-Sea’s church on Friday.
According to the Met Police, the murder of Southend West Sir David Amess (pictured), is being treated as a terror event ‘with links Islamist extremism’. A British man of Somali heritage remains in police custody under suspicion of murder.
Left to Right: Katie, Julia, Sir David Amess and Sarah at Flo’s August wedding
Sir David sustained multiple stab wounds during the attack on Friday. Despite heroic efforts by paramedics to save him, the MP succumbed to his injuries.
The father of five, aged 69, was attacked during Friday’s meeting with the public. Ali was stabbed 17 times in an afranied attack. Ali was arrested for murder and another charge of preparation terrorist acts after a week-long investigation by Scotland Yard.
Nick Price, Head CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division stated that Ali Harbi Ali has been charged with the murder of Sir David Amess. We will present to the court evidence that this murder had a terrorist connection, which is that it had both ideological and religious motivations. He was also charged with the preparation terrorist acts. This follows a review by the Metropolitan Police of the evidence it gathered during its investigation’.
Matt Jukes (Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations) said: “I want to offer my deepest condolences and sympathies to the family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones of Sir David Amess who tragically died last Friday.” Sir David’s dedication and love for his family, his constituents, and his community and his positive impact on so many lives has shined through’.
Outside New Scotland Yard Mr Jukes stated that a large number of detectives worked around the clock to discover as much information as possible about the events and their causes.
“This work included searches at several London addresses. Our advanced forensics team analysed digital gadgets and performed a meticulous review of CCTV footage.
‘If any members of the general public have any additional information that might aid the investigation, I urge them to do so. You will not waste your time by providing us with irrelevant information.
Sir David’s sudden death during weekly constituency surgery shocked Britain and will likely change the way MPs meet voters and are protected forever.
His family released a heartbreaking statement in which they urged people to “set aside hate” and added: “Nobody should be killed that way.” Nobody. No matter your race, religion, or political beliefs, be kind and understanding. We are broken but we will survive for the sake of a wonderful, inspiring man.
Ali is the son of a former Sudanese diplomat who was born in Britain and raised in Croydon. After falling out with his parents he decided to move in with an aunt and her sons in a council house in the upmarket North London enclave of Kentish Town, in a street of £2million three-storey townhouses.
His move to north London is understood to have coincided with a deterioration in his relationship with his Somali-born parents. Ali’s parents split up when he was young and his father returned to Somalia. One neighbour, who has known the family for twenty years, said that Ali spoke of hopes of becoming a doctor with the NHS, saying: ‘He told me he’d been doing exams and he seemed westernised.’
Police and intelligence officials were initially mystified about why the 69-year-old Tory politician was singled out for attack. Reports had initially suggested that Sir David, a devout Roman Catholic and prominent Brexiteer who was MP for Southend West, had been selected because of his political viewsOr religion.
Investigators believe there was no motive for Sir David’s attack. According to one government insider, “He was unlucky.” His political party was not the reason he was targeted. David Amess was not targeted.
Shock: Harbi Ali Kuullane, a Somali government adviser. He is said not to be with his son
Police are also investigating alleged ties between Sir David, Qatar, and other suspects. The Tory MP was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Gulf state and returned from his latest visit there on Wednesday last week.
Sir David’s loved ones said that their hearts were’shattered” by his cruel and violent murder’ at a constituency surgery, Essex. They claimed they couldn’t understand why the ‘patriot’ and’man of peace’ was targeted in this way by a knifeman he hadn’t met.
On Friday, officers raided Ali’s ‘childhood house’ in Croydon. This comes as Met Police officers were yesterday observed guarding a property along a tree-lined street near North London where Ali is believed currently live. Police were seen walking into the property and a blue and yellow tent was erected outside the council-owned property on the street, where homes sell for around £2million.
It comes as intelligence officials are believed to have warned Ministers that Britain could face a wave of terrorist attacks carried out by ‘bedroom radicals’ – so-called ‘lone wolf’ terrorists who turned to extremism after spending months at home during the Covid lockdown.
According to one security source, “Counter-terror officers and MI5 have been concerned since some time that once the lockdown was lifted, there would be more people on the streets and more targets than the terrorists,” The Telegraph reported.
His father spoke of his family’s shock as he questioned the London-born suspect. Harbi Ali Kullane (a former adviser in media and communications to the Prime Minister for Somalia) said that he was traumatized by his son’s arrest.
He said, “At this particular moment, we are going through.” [an]It is a shocking and unprecedented situation.
As details emerged about the suspect killer’s childhood in south London, Mr Kullane spoke out.
Investigators have been trying to piece together the movements of the suspect since the attack on Friday.
They have not discovered any apparent affiliation to terrorist groups and don’t believe Ali has ever met Sir David. A source said that they have not found any evidence suggesting that the MP was attacked due to his voting record.
A tent was erected by police officers outside a north London house. It is believed to be related to the death of Sir David
Candles are lit near a portrait by David Amess, during a vigil at St Michaels Church in Leigh-on-Sea.
People look at the flowers left behind by the police around the Belfairs Methodist Church
Another neighbor described the household as “polite, respectful, and decent”. He said that there was a tall, 25-year-old man who lived outside. He would smoke outside. He would always greet you.
They are a great family. This is a shocking statement. It is absolutely horrendous.
“They were all wonderful. It’s amazing. They were polite, respectful and courteous. It’s amazing.”
Neighbors claim that Mr Kullane returned to the UK in order to have a heart procedure on the NHS. He lives with his sister in Bounds Green in north London. Police also visited the home over the weekend.
Police also searched the Croydon home of the suspect’s mother as well as her siblings. The officers spent more than 24 hours searching the house and then took the family away. Police warned them that they would not return for a while.
A neighbor who requested not to be identified said that their children used to go nearby to the mosque. But, I don’t believe they do anymore. They’ve been very kind neighbours.
Sir David’s loved ones said that their hearts were’shattered” by his cruel and violent murder’ at a constituency surgery, Essex. They claimed they couldn’t understand why the ‘patriot’ and’man of peace’ was targeted in this way by a knifeman he hadn’t met.
The father of five, aged 69, was attacked at Friday’s meeting with the public. He was stabbed 17 times during a frantic attack. His family made a heartbreaking statement, calling for people to “set aside hatred” and adding that “Nobody should die that way.” Nobody.
‘Whatever one’s race, religious or political beliefs, be tolerant and try to understand. We are absolutely broken, but we will survive and carry on for the sake of a wonderful and inspiring man.’
Forensic officers at the scene near the Belfairs Methodist Church in Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on the day of the murder
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer join Home Secretary Priti Patel and the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle as they pay their respects to Sir David
People look at flowers left by the police cordon nearby the Belfairs Methodist Church
The Home Office scheme, which has an annual budget of around £40million, has been under scrutiny for years after a series of terrorists slipped through its net, including Reading attacker Khairi Saadallah.
Miss Patel has not received a report back from the independent review, as the review did not begin in full until earlier in this year.
Robert Buckland, former justice secretary, called for a shakeup of Prevent in order to achieve a more ‘joined up’ approach. He suggested that schools, the NHS, and other public agencies should cooperate more to ensure security forces can intervene quickly.
He told Times Radio that he hopes that community supervision and community involvement will be more integrated between education and health services.
“And that aspect of being joined up is what we really need urgently to work on.”
He stated that records or information may be available from schools or colleges, or from the health services. This could help us to learn more about individuals’ activities. This is about community prevention. We need to work together more effectively.
“We have to ensure that every part of the state works together to understand these individuals and then to intervene if the risk is so great that intervention could prevent the kind of horrific incident that we saw last week in the Jo Cox case as well as other examples.
Mrs. Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen was about to perform a constituency surgery when she was attacked by a far-Right fanatic.
A Tory former Defence Minister doubled-down on his call for a temporary suspension of public meetings between MPs and their constituents, as he warned ‘there could be a copycat-style attack’ following the killing of Sir David.
Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, urged a ‘pause in face-to-face’ consultations between parliamentarians and members of the public until a safety review had been completed in the wake of Sir David’s death on Friday.
His proposal was shot down by defiant Conservatives including former Cabinet minister David Davis. Labour’s Harriet Harman called for an official review of MPs’ safety, while ex-Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott also rallied against ‘airport-style screening’ – but told the BBC she would support meeting constituents behind a screen to prevent possible stab attacks.
Miss Patel insisted MPs must keep meeting voters, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show it would be ‘unacceptable’ for the killing to “Break the link between an elected representative’s democratic role, responsibility, and duty to the people who elected him or her.”
However, the killing of Sir David at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea as he met with Southend West constituents has prompted the Government to look at ensuring Every MP is protected at their weekly surgeries by police – a move supported by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Commons Speaker.
Channel 4’s Mr Ellwood doubled down on his proposal and warned: “Ultimately, we have to recognize that there could be an attack copycat-style.” This has been made clear by the police. Let’s ensure that our lives and how we do things are not changed. However, we must do it in a cognitive way so that MPs, staff, as well as the general public, are safe.
The MP for Bournemouth East was praised for his heroic efforts to save Pc Keith Palmer’s life during the 2017 Westminster terror attack. He also revealed to the broadcaster that he had spoken with Sir David about the security implications of withdrawing from Afghanistan for terrorist and extremism last week while they were visiting Doha, Qatar.
An ongoing investigation into the death of Sir David has been focused on multiple areas such as Camden, Croydon or another unspecified London address.
Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Sternmer, Priti Patel, and Sir Lyndsay Hople arrive at the scene of Sir David Amess’s murder in Leigh-on-Sea (Essex) to pay their respects Saturday