Terrorist guilty of ‘cold and calculating’ murder of MP Sir David Amess
A homegrown terrorist has been found guilty of stabbing Sir David Amess to death and plotting to attack other MPs including Michael Gove.
Islamic State fanatic Ali Harbi Ali, 26, carried out the “cold and calculating” murder at the veteran MP’s constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on October 15 last year.
He told the Old Bailey trial he had no regrets about the murder, defending his actions by saying Sir David deserved to die as a result of voting in Parliament for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.
Ali sent a manifesto on WhatsApp to family and friends seeking to justify his actions around the time of the attack, telling Sir David he was “sorry” before plunging the knife into him, causing the politician to scream.
He died at the scene.
Knife-wielding Ali was later apprehended by two police officers armed only with batons and spray.
Essex Police Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow praised his officers’ “astounding bravery” in tackling Ali.
He said: “They’ve basically gone in armed with a stick – something that appears smaller than a deodorant can – to deal with a man that has just committed an absolutely heinous act, still armed with that knife.
“I think it’s an astounding act of bravery.”
He said: “I’m obviously pleased that at the end of what must have been a very difficult trial for Sir David Amess’s family, justice has been served and this individual will now pay the price for his crimes.”
The court heard how London-born Ali had become self-radicalised in 2014, going on to drop out of university, abandoning ambitions for a career in medicine.
The defendant, who came from an influential Somali family and said he had a childhood “full of love and care”, considered travelling to Syria to fight but by 2019 opted for an attack in Britain.
Ali bought a £20 knife from Argos six years ago which he carried in his bag throughout the summer of 2021 as he “scoped out” possible targets, jurors heard.
He carried out reconnaissance on the Houses of Parliament but found police there “armed to the teeth”.
Ali carried out online research on MPs including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Scenarios included mingling with media, bumping into him jogging, ringing his doorbell, and causing a scene to “lure” him out.
Ali rejected the plan after Mr Gove split up with his wife and was thought to have moved out of the family home.
He was later to tell police: “It was… so convenient to go to that address but I just, I don’t know why I didn’t do that one.”
Ali, from Kentish Town, north London, was also spotted lurking outside Finchley MP Mike Freer’s constituency office, jurors were told.
By September last year, Ali had settled on Sir David as an easy target after seeing his upcoming surgery in Leigh-on-Sea on Twitter.
He made an appointment through the MP’s office, falsely claiming he was moving to the area and was interested in churches.
Within minutes of meeting Sir David, Ali pulled out a 12in carving knife and stabbed him more than 20 times.
He waved the bloody knife and threatened to kill the MP’s two female aides and a couple who had arrived for their appointment.
Sir David’s assistant Julie Cushion told jurors he appeared “self-satisfied” in the wake of the brutal killing.
In police interview, he spoke calmly about his terror plot and admitted allegiance to so-called Islamic State.
He told officers Sir David immediately suspected a “sting”, having been duped into talking about a fake drug “cake” in the television series Brass Eye.
“But, yeah, it’s probably one of the strangest days… of my life now, y’know?”
Jurors were told Ali had no mental health issues and he accepted much of the evidence against him.
Sir David was killed five years after Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was murdered in her constituency.
His death led to renewed concern around the safety of MPs.