A “bloodthirsty” and “fanatical” terrorist has been found guilty of the murder of MP Sir David Amess.
The veteran Conservative politician was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October last year.
Sir David, who was the MP for Southend West, suffered more than 20 stab wounds in a “vicious and frenzied” attack that was “an assassination for terrorist purposes”, a court heard.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Ali Harbi Ali was convicted of murder and a charge of preparing acts of terrorism.
Sir David Amess was stabbed to death in October last year
The defendant refused to stand “on religious grounds” as the jury delivered their verdicts after just 18 minutes deliberating.
Sir David’s family sat in the well of the courtroom, just metres from Ali who showed no emotion in the dock.
In response to the guilty verdicts, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey tweeted: “Good. Justice delivered though we will never have Sir David back.”
The Old Bailey heard Ali was a “bloodthirsty” Islamic State supporter who had spent years hatching his plot to kill an MP.
A jury took just 18 minutes to convict Ali Harbi Ali
The 26-year-old had researched a number of potential high-profile political targets including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling on Sir David.
He managed to arrange an appointment with the MP by duping the politician’s office into believing he was a healthcare worker moving to the area who wished to discuss local matters.
The university dropout travelled from his home in Kentish Town, north London, to Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, where the MP’s constituency surgery was being held.
Read more: How ‘fanatical terrorist’ carried out MP assassination – and his ‘warped’ motive for the attack
CCTV images showed Ali’s journey to murder Sir David
Ali travelled from Kentish Town, north London, to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
After Ali appeared “relaxed and chatty” when he arrived for the meeting, Sir David’s aide Rebecca Hayton described seeing the killer stand up, say “sorry”, pull a knife from his clothing, and stab the MP “straight in the stomach”.
“Sir David screamed,” prosecutor Tom Little QC told the court.
“The defendant stabbed him again. Indeed, he stabbed him multiple times in a vicious and frenzied attack.”
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‘The man’s wielding a knife’ – 999 call
After the attack, Ali said he wanted “every parliament minister (sic) who signed up for the bombing of Syria, who agreed to the Iraqi war, to die”.
“I’ve done it because of Syria,” Ali said. “I’ve done it because of the innocent people. I’ve done it because of the bombing. He deserved to die.”
The killer was holding a phone after attacking Sir David and the voice of his sister could be heard screaming at him and she sounded “hysterical”, the court was told.
Sir David had been an MP since 1983. Pic: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock
After he was confronted by an unarmed man who had arrived for a meeting with Sir David, Ali claimed he wanted to be shot dead by police and become a “martyr”.
Dramatic bodycam footage showed two plain-clothed officers who were first to respond to the scene, armed only with batons and CS spray, tackle Ali and arrest him.
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Bodycam footage shows arrest
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Amess murder suspect calls attack ‘terror’
Mr Little said the “cold and calculated murder” of Sir David was “carried out because of a warped and twisted and violent ideology”.
He added: “It was a murder carried out by a young man who for many years had been planning just such an attack and who was, and is, a committed, fanatical, radicalised Islamist terrorist.”
Giving evidence during his trial, Ali said he had no regrets about killing Sir David and said the MP deserved to die for voting in parliament for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.
The court was shown CCTV footage of Ali carrying out what appeared to be reconnaissance trips near the Houses of Parliament on multiple occasions in September 2021 – the month before the killing.
Ali was found guilty of murder and preparing acts of terrorism
He also made six separate trips “scoping out” Mr Gove’s home address and visited the constituency surgery of MP Mike Freer, the court heard.
Ali even made notes on plans to attack Mr Gove – including one where he would “bump into him jogging” – but decided not to target him after the cabinet minister split from his wife and their home was sold, the jury was told.
Sir David, a 69-year-old father-of-five, had been an MP from 1983 until his death.
Ali will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.