London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Sir David Amess: Man found guilty of murdering MP

An IS fanatic has been found guilty of murdering Sir David Amess MP. The Southend West MP was stabbed more than 20 times during a constituency surgery in October 2021.
The Southend West MP was stabbed more than 20 times during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on 15 October 2021.

A jury at the Old Bailey took just 18 minutes to convict Ali Harbi Ali of murder and preparing acts of terrorism.

The 26-year-old from Kentish Town, north London, had denied the charges and claimed he targeted the MP over his vote for airstrikes on Syria.

Sir David's family sat in court just a short distance from Ali as the verdicts were delivered.

The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said Ali, who refused to stand up in the dock on "religious grounds", will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Before being sent out, the judge told the jury the defendant had no legal defence for killing the Conservative MP.

Following the verdicts, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that Sir David was "a beloved colleague, public servant and friend", adding that his thoughts were with his family.

Ali stabbed Sir David, 69, after tricking his way into a meeting by pretending to be an NHS employee moving to the area.

During the trial, jurors heard how he had also scoped out and planned attacks on other MPs, including cabinet minister Michael Gove who he believed was "a harm to Muslims".

He drew up plans to get close to the Levelling Up Secretary which he abandoned after he split from his wife and left the family home, the jury heard.

The court heard the defendant was still determined to carry out an attack and scouted the office of Finchley MP Mike Freer and carried out online research on other MPs, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

He chose Sir David after a search on Twitter showed he was due to hold a constituency surgery.

The trial heard Ali was a "model student" but had become self-radicalised in 2014, dropping out of university and abandoning ambitions of a medical career.

He was referred to the government's Prevent strategy to counter radicalisation, but continued plotting in secret.

In evidence, Ali told the court he wanted to travel to Syria to join the self-styled Islamic State but it was too "difficult" so he decided to "help Muslims here" instead.

He said he had no regrets or shame about killing Sir David, telling the court: "If I thought I did anything wrong, I wouldn't have done it".

Ali said: "I felt like one minute I was sat down at the table talking to him and the next he was, sort of, dead.

"But, yeah, it's probably one of the strangest days... of my life now, you know?"

The court heard the defendant had planned to die as a "martyr", assuming he would be shot by police.

After the stabbing, witnesses described how he waved the knife around and threatened Sir David's staff and members of the public.

He was detained by two plain-clothed officers from Essex Police, the first on the scene, who were armed only with batons and incapacitant spray.

In video shown to the jury, officers were heard shouting "drop the knife" while the defendant was on the phone to his sister.

He told jurors he dropped the weapon when he realised the officers - PC Ryan Curtis and PC Scott James - were unarmed.

Both officers have received Essex Police's highest accolade, the Merit Star, for their bravery.

Recalling when they arrived at the scene, PC James said: "We couldn't stand outside if there was a chance other people were getting attacked, and we also wanted to get paramedics inside the building as soon as possible.

"Our biggest fear that day was that there were other defenceless people inside with Sir David waiting for the police to come through the door - so any fears we had were put to one side."

Det Ch Supt Dominic Murphy, head of operations for the Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Sir David's family have been left utterly devastated, but they have shown remarkable courage and dignity throughout the investigation and this trial.

"Following the murder, our officers worked extremely hard and at pace to firstly ensure there was no existing threat linked to the attacker, and then to put together a compelling package of evidence which showed his extremist mind-set, and the lengths he went to in order to plan and commit the attack."

Sir David was killed five years after Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was murdered in her constituency.

Her widower Brendan Cox said on Twitter: "The terrorist will rot in jail and die in ignominy. David's name will be remembered, especially by the people of Southend who he served."

Jo Cox's sister Kim Leadbeater, the current MP for Batley and Spen, told the BBC there were "two things that really need to be looked at", including ensuring the country had a "free and open society and democracy" and "also how we make sure people elected to public office feel safe to do their jobs".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×