UK police charge suspect with murder of MP Amess
October 21, 2021
British prosecutors said Thursday they had authorized police to charge a 25-year-old suspect with the murder of lawmaker David Amess.
The British member of Parliament was stabbed to death last Friday during a constituency meeting at a church in the southeastern county of Essex.
Police had arrested the suspect and declared the attack a "terrorist incident."
What are the charges?
"We will submit to the court that this murder has a terrorist connection, namely that it had both religious and ideological motivations," said Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division. The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales.
"He has also been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts. This follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation."
Matt Jukes, a Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner for specialist operations, said detectives had analyzed computers, searched several London addresses and reviewed CCTV footage as part of the investigation.
"It remains the case that no other arrests have been made and at this time we are not seeking anybody else in relation to this incident," he said.
The suspect has been identified as Ali Harbi Ali, a British citizen living in London.
The murder of David Amess
The death of Amess has shocked Britain. On Friday, a man stabbed Amess several times during a meeting with voters in his constituency at the Belfairs Methodist church.
Essex police arrested Ali and recovered a knife soon thereafter.
British politicians pride themselves on being accessible to their constituents., but the murder of Amess prompted conversations about protecting politicians and public figures, as well as grappling with extremism.
On Wednesday, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the terrorism threat level to lawmakers was now deemed substantial, which means an attack is considered likely.
fb/sms (Reuters, AP)