Daughter of murdered MP demands answers about his death

The daughter of murdered Tory MP Sir David Arms said: “We have so many questions that need to be answered.”

Katie Amess told the BBC Radio 4 Today program that authorities failed to adequately protect her father and her family wanted an investigation into this.

Ali Harbi Ali stabbed Southend West MP to death during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on 15 October 2021 .

The Home Office and Essex Police said it would be inappropriate to comment due to ongoing legal proceedings. Ms. Ames was referring to legal action that began earlier this year.

Speaking to TODAY’s Mishal Hussain, Ms Ames said: “Nobody is getting any answers…so that we can learn from our mistakes and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

She said there were questions about why police did not respond to protect her father after an immediate threat was reported.

She said her brother received a call the night before the attack that Sir David, 69, was to be killed and reported the matter to police.

It later emerged the call had come from an unrelated party, but Ms Ames said it didn’t matter as they “were supposed to be at Sir David’s constituency surgery the next day”.

“Just one threat is enough to make you protect someone.”

She added: “If they had been there, my father might not have died.

“I think we need a full investigation into why they didn’t turn up and people need to know the answers so we can prevent something like this from happening again.”

Essex Police said an investigation was launched immediately following the call and a woman and a man were arrested. It said that, like all police forces, it would not provide officers to police MP constituency surgeries.

Police added: “There is no link between this incident and Sir David’s murder.”

Ms Ames also called for a full investigation and disclosure of how Ali – who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole in 2022 – came to be entangled in national security straits.

It emerged during the trial that Ali had been referred to the government’s counter-extremism program Prevent as a teenager in 2014 and 2015.

The inquest was delayed after Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brooks decided in July not to resume the inquest into Sir David Ali, who is charged with murder.

In a report explaining his decision, he said there was a large gap between preventive intervention and Sir David’s murder and “there is no evidence that this attack could have been prevented years and immeasurably later” .

But Ms. Ames dismissed this, saying: “Why on earth would you not want this to be investigated?

“The purpose of Prevent is to track terrorists and stop them before they attack. That’s the purpose of Prevent.

“The police got the call the night before, why didn’t they go in for surgery the next day?

“There are a lot of people here who are at fault but no one is getting any answers because I have not been allowed to have a full public inquiry so that we can learn from our mistakes and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

High Court documents show Ms Ames, an actress living in California, lodged a personal injury claim against the Home Office and Essex Police in December last year.

But she told the BBC: “I can’t actually make a civil claim because it would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, which I obviously don’t have.

“So my only hope was for this investigation to happen and that has been taken away from me.”

Essex Police said they were aware a claim form had been submitted to the court but “as these documents have not yet been served on our police officers we are unable to make any further comment on this”.

Police added that Sir David was a “brave public servant” and “immediately after his murder our two heroic unarmed officers were put in danger and desperately tried to save him and of course detain the killer.

“Several of our other officers arrived shortly afterwards and, along with paramedic colleagues, helped to save Sir David, sadly they were unable to do so.”

It added that it regularly reviews and provides advice on security arrangements for councilors in the county.

“If information or intelligence comes to light that gives us reason to be concerned about the safety of members of Congress, we will of course advise and guide them to ensure their safety and provide police force where necessary.”

The UK Home Office said prevention is an important tool in tackling terrorism.

The statement said: “The attack on Sir David Ames is a terrible tragedy. The safety of members of Parliament is paramount and a huge amount of work has been carried out in response to his tragic killing.”

Ms. Ames also praised her father as “the hardest-working man I have ever met,” describing him as a “dynamic, mysterious and passionate” man who loved helping others.

She said being in Southend was “so hard” for her now “because it reminds me of my dad”.

“I just wish he could be here to see it all and see the city of Southend.”