David Amess
Tory MP killed in knife attack – Great Britain in shock
British Tory MP David Amess has died after a knife attack.
© Richard Townshend / AFP
British Tory MP David Amess died from his injuries after a knife attack at a citizens’ clinic. The police arrested a 25-year-old on suspicion of murder.
British MP David Amess was killed in a knife attack in his constituency. The police in the English county of Essex confirmed on Friday. The alleged attacker, a 25-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of murder. According to the investigators, a knife was found at the scene of the crime.
First, the British media reported that it was the 69-year-old MP for the Conservative Tory Party, who had been in the British House of Commons since 1983. The attack took place during a weekly public consultation in a Methodist church in the small town east of London.
Local police said they were alerted about the knife attack around noon. You have arrested a suspect on site and are not looking for any other perpetrators. The victim of the attack was taken care of by emergency doctors on site before succumbing to his injuries.
Tat brings back memories of the attack on Jo Cox
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps recognized Amess as “a committed, prudent man and a true MP”. He was killed “while serving the voters for whom he worked tirelessly throughout his career.” Opposition leader and Labor leader Keir Starmer called the news of the MP’s death “appalling and deeply shocking”.
The attack brings back memories of the knife attack on Labor MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist in the run-up to the Brexit referendum in 2016. Cox’s widower described the attack on Amess as “as cowardly as it gets”.
Labor MP Stephen Timms, who himself survived a severe knife attack in 2010, was “appalled” by the attack. Former Conservative chairman Iain Duncan Smith expressed concern about the security risk at MPs’ office hours. Security precautions “that are sometimes recommended” are not possible there, he wrote on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also deeply concerned. Everyone’s hearts are filled with “shock and sadness” over the death of his 69-year-old fellow party member, Johnson told reporters on Friday. Amess was one of the “most lovable and friendliest people in politics,” the prime minister said. Johnson did not comment on the possible reasons for the crime. “Our thoughts are very much with his family, wife and children, and for anything else we need to let the police investigate,” Johnson continued.