Counter-terrorism officers are leading the murder investigation into the stabbing to death of Conservative MP Sir David Amess, Essex Police has said. They were keeping an open mind as to the alleged attacker’s motivations, according to chief constable Ben Julian Harrington.
The stabbing took place at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh at about midday. Essex Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested “immediately” after officers arrived, and a knife recovered.
Sir David, who was first elected to parliament in 1983, leaves a wife and five children. The 69-year-old was praised as “the most committed MP you could ever hope to meet” whose “every word and act were marked by kindness”, as tributes flooded in from parliamentary colleagues.
