Sir David's family comforted each other as they read messages on floral tributes left outside the church where the MP was stabbed to death.
Sir David’s widow, Julia, wiped tears from her eyes on the visit to Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex this morning.
The group of six, accompanied by the church’s minister Clifford Newman, spent more than 15 minutes looking through the messages that people had written.
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They put their arms around one another and held hands at points.
The group later bowed their heads and formed a semi-circle around the churchman as he gave a short private address.
Large piles of tributes – including flowers, heart-shaped balloons and framed pictures – have been left on either side of the front door of the church.
The family said in a statement released through the Metropolitan Police on Sunday that they were “absolutely broken” but “will survive and carry on for the sake of a wonderful and inspiring man”.
A fundraiser has been launched in Sir David's memory - more details here
It comes as prime minister Boris Johnson announced Southend will be granted city status in tribute to the 69-year-old MP, who was killed during a surgery for his constituents on Friday at around midday.
Mr Johnson said the Queen had agreed to the move following a campaign by Sir David, the Southend West representative, which lasted several years.
On Monday, MPs returned to the House of Commons following a recess to hear tributes to Sir David, who was described by the prime minister as a politician who “simply wanted to serve the people of Essex”.
Mr Johnson said Sir David was a “seasoned campaigner of verve and grit” who “never once witnessed any achievement by any resident of Southend that could not somehow be cited in his bid to secure city status for that distinguished town”.
“As it is only a short time since Sir David last put that very case to me in this chamber, I am happy to announce that Her Majesty has agreed that Southend will be accorded the city status it so clearly deserves,” he added to cheers from MPs.
Southend was one of several towns competing for city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, with Sir David having pushed for the recognition for at least two decades.
Essex Police has until Friday to question the suspect, who remains in custody.
Ali Harbi Ali is understood to be a British citizen with Somali heritage, who was born in the UK after his family fled the war-torn African nation in the 1990s.
He is reportedly the son of a former adviser to the prime minister of Somalia, with other relatives apparently having been in diplomatic or advisory roles for the country’s government.
The Times said his father Harbi Ali Kullane had confirmed his son had been arrested.
According to unconfirmed reports, Ali went to secondary school in Croydon and is claimed to have trained as an NHS doctor after studying at medical school.
Scotland Yard said the early investigation revealed a “potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism” while official sources told the PA news agency the probe was assuming this was the motivation behind the attack.
But it is understood the suspect was not, and had not previously been, a subject of interest (SOI) for the security services.
