The veteran conservative politician was stabbed to death during a surgery meeting in the Leigh-on-Sea constituency of Essex last October. The Southend West MP suffered more than 20 stab wounds in an “asexual and frenetic” attack that was “a murder for terrorist purposes”, according to a court. Following a trial in Old Bailey, Ali Harbi Ali was convicted of murder and charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. Image: Sir David Amess was stabbed to death in October last year Defendant refused to stand “for religious reasons” as the jury issued their verdicts after just 18 minutes of discussion. Sir David’s family sat in the well of the courtroom, a few meters from Ali who showed no emotion in the bench. Responding to the verdicts, Labor and Pensions Minister Therese Coffey wrote on Twitter: “Fine. Justice has been done, although we will never have Sir David back.” The Islamic State fanatic had targeted Michael Gove Old Bailey heard that Ali was a “bloodthirsty” supporter of Islamic State who had spent years plotting to assassinate a lawmaker. Image: A court took just 18 minutes to convict Ali Harbi Ali The 26-year-old had researched a number of possible high-profile political targets, including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling with Sir David. He managed to arrange an appointment with the MP, deceiving the politician’s office, believing that he was a health worker who had moved to the area and wanted to discuss local issues. The drop-out student traveled from his home in Kentish, north London, to the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, where he’s undergoing surgery in the constituency. Read more: How the “fanatical terrorist” carried out the assassination of a member of parliament – and his “distorted” motive for the attack Image: CCTV footage shows Ali’s trip to Sir David’s assassination Image: Ali traveled from Kentish, north London, to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex “I did it because of Syria” After Ali appeared “relaxed and talkative” when he arrived for the meeting, Sir David’s assistant, Rebecca Hayton, described seeing the killer get up, say “sorry”, pull a knife from his clothes and stab him. MP “straight on the stomach”. “Sir David screamed,” prosecutor Tom Little QC told the court. “The accused stabbed him again. Indeed, he stabbed him several times in a savage and frantic attack.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:59 ‘The man is holding a knife’ – call 999 After the attack, Ali said he wanted “every member of parliament (sic) who signed the bombing of Syria, who agreed to the Iraq war, to die.” “I did it because of Syria,” Ali said. “I did it because of the innocent people. I did it because of the bombings. He deserved to die.” The killer was holding a phone after attacking Sir David and his sister’s voice was screaming and sounded “hysterical”, the court reported. Image: Sir David Member of Parliament since 1983. Photo: Amer Ghazzal / Shutterstock After confronting an unarmed man who had arrived for a meeting with Sir David, Ali claimed he wanted the police to shoot him and become a “witness”. Dramatic footage from a body camera showed two politically dressed police officers being the first to respond to the scene, armed only with batons and CS spray, to confront Ali and arrest him. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:22 Footage from body camera shows capture Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:35 Murder suspect Amess calls attack ‘terror’ MP’s killer says Sir David Amess ‘deserved to die’ Mr Little said Sir David’s “cold and calculated murder” was “carried out because of a distorted and distorted and violent ideology”. He added: “It was a murder committed by a young man who had been planning just such an attack for many years and who was, and is, a devoted, fanatical, radicalized Islamist terrorist.” Testifying during his trial, Ali said he had no regrets about killing Sir David and said the lawmaker deserved to die because he voted in parliament for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015. Ali’s CCTV footage was shown in court of what appeared to be reconnaissance trips near Parliament buildings on several occasions in September 2021 – the month before the assassination. Image: Ali was found guilty of murder and planning a terrorist attack He also made six separate trips to “verify” Mr. Gove’s home address and visited MP Mike Frier’s office in the constituency, according to the court. Ali even took note of plans to attack Mr Gove – including one he would “hit while jogging” – but decided not to target him after his wife’s split from the cabinet and was sold their home, the jury said. Sir David, a 69-year-old father of five, was an MP from 1983 until his death. Ali will be sentenced in Old Bailey on Wednesday.
title: “Sir David Amess Ali Harbi Ali Found Guilty Of Murdering Mp And Preparing Acts Of Terrorism Uk News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-27” author: “Theresa Wilkie”
The veteran conservative politician was stabbed to death during a surgery meeting in the Leigh-on-Sea constituency of Essex last October. The Southend West MP suffered more than 20 stab wounds in an “asexual and frenetic” attack that was “a murder for terrorist purposes”, according to a court. Following a trial in Old Bailey, Ali Harbi Ali was convicted of murder and charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. Image: Sir David Amess was stabbed to death in October last year The accused refused to stand “for religious reasons” as the jurors issued their verdicts after only 18 minutes of discussion. Sir David’s family sat in the well of the courtroom, a few meters from Ali who showed no emotion in the bench. Responding to the verdicts, Labor and Pensions Minister Therese Coffey wrote on Twitter: “Fine. Justice has been done, although we will never have Sir David back.” The Islamic State fanatic had targeted Michael Gove Elder Bailey heard that Ali was a “bloodthirsty” supporter of Islamic State who had spent years plotting to assassinate a lawmaker. Image: A court took just 18 minutes to convict Ali Harbi Ali The 26-year-old had researched a number of possible high-profile political targets, including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling with Sir David. He managed to arrange an appointment with the MP, deceiving the politician’s office, believing that he was a health worker who had moved to the area and wanted to discuss local issues. The drop-out student traveled from his home in Kentish, north London, to the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, where he’s undergoing surgery in the constituency. Read more: How the “fanatical terrorist” carried out the assassination of a member of parliament – and his “distorted” motive for the attack Image: CCTV footage shows Ali’s trip to Sir David’s assassination Image: Ali traveled from Kentish, north London, to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex “I did it because of Syria” After Ali appeared “relaxed and talkative” when he arrived for the meeting, Sir David’s assistant, Rebecca Hayton, described seeing the killer get up, say “sorry”, pull a knife from his clothes and stab him. MP “straight on the stomach”. Prosecutor Tom Little QC told the court how Sir David “screamed”. “The accused stabbed him again. Indeed, he stabbed him several times in a savage and frantic attack.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:59 ‘The man is holding a knife’ – call 999 After the attack, Ali said he wanted “every member of parliament (sic) who signed the bombing of Syria, who agreed to the Iraq war, to die.” “I did it because of Syria,” Ali said. “I did it because of the innocent people. I did it because of the bombings. He deserved to die.” Reaction to convictions in the trial of Sir David Amess’s killer The killer was holding a phone after attacking Sir David and his sister’s voice could be heard screaming – it sounded “hysterical”, the court was told. Image: Sir David Member of Parliament since 1983. Photo: Amer Ghazzal / Shutterstock After Ali was confronted by an unarmed man who had arrived for a meeting with Sir David, the killer claimed that he wanted the police to shoot him and become a “witness”. Dramatic footage from a body camera showed two politically dressed police officers being the first to respond to the scene, armed only with batons and CS spray, to confront Ali and arrest him. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:22 Footage from body camera shows capture Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:35 Murder suspect Amess calls attack ‘terror’ MP’s killer says Sir David Amess ‘deserved to die’ Mr Little said Sir David’s “cold and calculated murder” was “carried out because of a distorted and distorted and violent ideology”. He added: “It was a murder committed by a young man who had been planning just such an attack for many years and who was, and is, a devoted, fanatical, radicalized Islamist terrorist.” Testifying during his trial, Ali said he had no regrets about killing Sir David and said the lawmaker deserved to die because he voted in parliament for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015. Ali’s CCTV footage was shown in court of what appeared to be reconnaissance trips near Parliament buildings on several occasions in September 2021 – the month before the assassination. Image: Ali was found guilty of murder and planning a terrorist attack He also made six separate trips to “verify” Mr. Gove’s home address and visited MP Mike Frier’s office in the constituency, according to the court. Ali even took note of plans to attack Mr Gove – including one he would “hit while jogging” – but decided not to target him after his wife’s split from the cabinet and was sold their home, the jury said. Sir David, a 69-year-old father of five, was an MP from 1983 until his death. Ali will be sentenced in Old Bailey on Wednesday.
