On 15 October 2021, Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP for Southend West, was fatally stabbed during a scheduled constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The attack was declared a terrorism incident by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command.

The attacker, Ali Harbi Ali, was detained at the scene. Amess’ death was formally confirmed at the scene shortly after 1:13 pm.

The subsequent trial revealed that the attack was highly premeditated. Ali, a radicalised Islamist terrorist, had spent two years planning an attack, which included researching lists of parliamentarians and conducting reconnaissance.

The court heard that Ali cited Amess’s voting record on UK airstrikes in Syria and his membership of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) as motives for the assassination.

The murder followed the killing of Jo Cox, a Labour MP, in 2016.

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Amess, first elected in 1983, was a well-liked and constituency-oriented MP. He was knighted in 2015 for his public service.

Amess had previously warned of the vulnerability of MPs while they held public constituency surgeries. He wrote in his 2020 autobiography that fear of attacks “rather spoilt the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians”.

Amess wrote: “We regularly check our locks and many others have CCTV cameras installed but probably the most significant change has been with constituency surgeries. The British tradition has always been that [MPs] regularly make themselves available for constituents to meet them face to face at their surgeries.

“Now advice has been given to be more careful when accepting appointments. We are advised to never see people alone, we must be extra careful when opening post and we must ensure that our offices are properly safe and secure.

“In short, these increasing attacks have rather spoilt the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians.”

Parliament convened on 18 October 2021 so MPs could pay tribute to their departed colleague.

The speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, praised Sir David as “second to none in his determined commitment to his constituents, first as the Member for Basildon between 1983 and 1997, and since then as the member for Southend West.”

Hoyle added: “He was tireless in making sure that the voice of Southend West was heard in this chamber – it is difficult to believe that we will not hear him make the case for Southend achieving city status before the next recess.”

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, described Amess as “one of the nicest, kindest and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches”. He condemned the killing as “a contemptible act of violence, striking at the core of what it is to be a member of this House.”

In an emotional speech, Conservative MP Mark Francois spoke of Amess as his “best and oldest friend in politics”.

Francois said that all he had learned about “how to be a constituency MP, I learned from David Amess.”

He told MPs of Sir David’s “zest for life” and “joie de vivre”.

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Francois also referred to Amess’ concern about “what he called the toxic environment in which MPs, particularly female MPs, were having to operate.”

He added: “I am absolutely determined – I ask for the House’s support in this – that he will not have died in vain. He is now resting in the arms of the God he worshipped devotedly his whole life, so farewell David, my colleague, my great friend – in fact, quite simply the best bloke I ever knew. I thank the House for its indulgence.”

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The Queen granted Southend city status in 2022. It formed a lasting tribute to Amess, who had long campaigned for the honour.

An annual House of Commons debate was also renamed in honour of Amess. The adjournment debate held before the summer recess is now known as the Sir David Amess adjournment debate.

Amess was a regular and enthusiastic contributor to the annual pre-recess debate. In 2024, Francois remembered that Amess “would manage to cram a vast number of different topics, usually related to his constituency, into a very small amount of time.”

He added: “From memory, the all-time record was 20 different subjects in 12 minutes, each of which mysteriously led to a subsequent press release.”

In April 2022, Ali Harbi Ali was found guilty of murder and the preparation of terrorist acts. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.