Summary

  • A memorial service for Sir David Amess has been held at St Margaret’s Church in Westminster

  • Addressing the congregation, which included around 800 of Sir David's colleagues, the Archbishop of Canterbury described him as "of the best"

  • The Archbishop of York remembered his "ability to listen" and "determination to help"

  • Earlier, Boris Johnson paid tribute in the Commons and announced Southend-on-Sea would become a city

  • Sir David campaigned tirelessly to gain that recognition for the town

  • MPs have been sharing memories of their former colleague in Parliament, with the PM describing him as a “steadfast servant”

  • Sir David, 69, was meeting constituents in his Southend West seat when he was fatally stabbed on Friday

  • A 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene and is being questioned by police

Live Reporting

Edited by Becky Morton

  1. Most MPs declined the offer of a security guard - former detective

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Philip Grindell, a former Metropolitan Police detective inspector who, after the 2016 murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, set up a group to advise MPs on safety measures, has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about parliamentarians' security.

    He says, when offered, most MPs declined the the chance to have a security guard or a police officer outside their surgeries.

    “There were very, very senior members of Parliament who would speak very strongly and supportively of the security measures, and yet not follow them,” he says.

    Speaking about the advice given to MPs, he says that, in addition to vetting everybody attending a surgery, MPs should have a desk between them and the constituent, an exit route behind them and never be left alone.

  2. Police found my constituent with an unlicensed gun - Tory MP

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Damian GreenReuters

    MP Damian Green has told the BBC he had to change his security arrangements after police discovered one of his constituents had an unlicensed gun.

    Speaking to Radio 5 Live, he says the man had been sending “a series of pretty vile emails”, which he didn’t report as they never contained a direct threat.

    Police checked in on the man after he began sending abusive emails to then Prime Minister David Cameron and discovered he was in possession of an unlicensed gun.

    Green says he now reports “everything” very quickly to the police.

  3. Friday's attack cannot get in the way of democracy - No 10

    Boris Johnson believes the killing of Sir David Amess "cannot get in the way of democracy", Downing Street says, after suggestions MPs could end face-to-face surgeries with constituents.

    Asked whether surgeries should move online, the PM's official spokesman says it is a decision for individual MPs.

    The spokesman says: "MPs may rightly be concerned about security, they've been contacted by police to discuss their activities and events so their arrangements can be reviewed.

    "But while individual arrangements should rightly remain a matter for individual MPs and police, the prime minister shares the concerns with a number of MPs and ministers that this attack cannot get in the way of democracy."

  4. Everything possible will be done to ensure MPs' safety - No 10

    Downing Street says "everything possible" will be done to ensure MPs can work safely following the fatal stabbing of Sir David Amess.

    Asked if Boris Johnson believes MPs' security should be tightened, the prime minister's official spokesman says: "MP security is something that is always kept under constant review, rightly.

    "The review that the home secretary commissioned is ongoing so I'm not going to comment ahead of that but of course we will want to do everything possible to make sure MPs are able to carry out their vital work safely."

  5. Sir David Amess's family visits church to read tributes

    Julia Amess visits floral tributesPA Media

    Julia Amess (left) arrives to view flowers and tributes left for her late husband at Belfairs Methodist Church

    The widow of Sir David Amess has been to look at flowers and read tributes left for her late husband outside the church where he was stabbed to death.

    Julia Amess wiped away tears while reading messages outside Belfairs Methodist Church earlier today.

    Rev Clifford Newman spoke with Sir David's widow during the family visit to the church, which lasted around 15 minutes.

    The six visitors bowed their heads and formed a semi-circle around the churchman as he gave a short private address.

    Julia Amess and familyPA Media
    Julia Amess and familyPA Media

  6. Why should I have to take abuse? - SNP MP

    Carol Monaghan

    SNP MP Carol Monaghan, who moved herself to a safe house after a death threat, says she is "shocked and upset" at the death of Sir David Amess.

    The MP for Glasgow North West says politicians have become the focus of people's anger and blames social media for intensifying the problem.

    Monaghan tells the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that Sir David Amess was an "utterly dedicated person and passionate about his constituency and the people he served".

    She says MPs are told that abuse "goes with the territory and they should grow a thick skin".

    "I have to say 'why should I have to?'," she says. "Why should my family or any other MP's family be put in danger?"

    Read more here.

  7. How many MPs have been killed in the UK?

    Sir David Amess is the latest member of the House of Commons to be killed in office but five others have died in the last 50 years.

    • Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered in her constituency by a far-right extremist on 16 June 2016.
    • In 1990, Eastbourne MP Ian Gow became the last in a string of MPs whose death was linked to Northern Ireland, after an IRA car bomb went off at his Sussex home.
    • Before him, the MP for Enfield Southgate Sir Anthony Berry died in the IRA bombing of Brighton's Grand Hotel in 1984.
    • The IRA also claimed the life of Ulster Unionist Party MP Robert Bradford, who was shot dead while holding a constituency surgery in a Belfast community centre in 1981.
    • And the Irish National Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the murder of former Northern Ireland secretary Airey Neave, whose car was blown up as he drove out of the parliamentary car park at Westminster in 1979.

  8. Constituent left me in fear of my life - MP Joanna Cherry

    Joanna CherryBBC Parliament

    SNP MP Joanna Cherry has revealed she contemplated quitting politics because of "unrelenting attacks" against her on social media.

    She also told the Daily Record newspaper that, following the killing of Sir David Amess, there is a need to "consider whether MPs can continue to meet total strangers at vulnerable locations such as libraries and church halls".

    Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West, said that on one occasion a constituent attending one of her surgeries had behaved "in such a menacing and threatening manner I and my office manager were in fear of our lives".

    "We were so terrified that after he left we pushed all the furniture against the door of the room in the suburban library where my surgery was being held while we waited for the police to arrive," she added.

  9. When and where are tributes to Sir David Amess taking place?

    Tributes to Sir David AmessReuters

    Several acts of commemoration for Sir David Amess are planned in and around Parliament today, as politicians return to Westminster for the week's business.

    At 14:30 BST there will be a minute's silence in the House of Commons.

    Tributes there to Sir David - who was an MP for more than 38 years - will begin at 15:30, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson getting them under way.

    Over the road from the Commons, in Parliament Square, there will be a gathering of dogs and their owners - Sir David was himself a dog lover who campaigned for animal rights.

    And at 18:00 a service of remembrance will take place at Westminster Abbey, attended by MPs and peers.

  10. 'Sir David knew that, through him, we could get somewhere'

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, Radio 4 Today

    What started as a charity to make music for people with learning difficulties went on to be a national organisation capable of filling the Albert Hall - that was 100% due to Sir David Amess - the founder of the Music Man Project tells me.

    David Stanley says: "We broke the world record for the most triangles played at once - 1,521 triangles in a piece of music that I composed called Concerto for Trumpet, Trombone and 1,521 triangles."

    He says Sir David went to the House of Commons at the very next opportunity to declare the record to then PM Theresa May.

    "He said: 'Surely now we should be a city,' because he knew that, through him, he could help us get somewhere."

  11. In pictures: Floral tributes left at the scene of MP's death

    The police cordon around the church where MP Sir David Amess was stabbed to death on Friday has now been lifted.

    Floral tributes are piled up at either side of the door to Belfairs Methodist Church, in Eastwood Road North in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, while several uniformed police officers remain in the area.

    A police officer arranges floral tributesPA Media
    A woman looks at floral tributesPA Media
    A picture of Sir David Amess is put up on the noticeboard outside his constituency officePA Media
    Floral tributes to Sir David Amess outside Belfairs Methodist ChurchGetty Images

  12. MPs speak up over threats and abuse

    Following the killing of Sir David Amess, several MPs have spoken of the abuse and threats they have received, while the home secretary has called for a review of MPs security arrangements.

    Justice Secretary Dominic Raab says he has had three threats to "life and limb" over the past two years, and he tells ITV's Good Morning that the most recent was "someone threatening to throw acid over me".

    Labour's shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds says he has received death threats because of his job. "I don't know a member of Parliament who has not suffered in that way," he adds.

    And a man has been arrested following a death threat to Labour's Chris Bryant over the weekend. The Rhondda MP says he has faced abuse every year he has been an MP, including from anti-vaxxers during the pandemic, and Brexit campaigners.

  13. Mural tribute at skatepark opened by MP

    A mural of Sir David AmessMadmanity

    A mural of Sir David Amess has appeared at a skatepark in Leigh-on-Sea.

    Sir David opened the venue 13 years ago and local artist Madmanity decided to pay tribute to the Southend West MP, following his fatal stabbing on Friday.

    The mural is simply called "Why?" and the artist says it is a "thank you from this community".

    Read more here.

  14. Watch: 'Amess's death took me back five years'

    Sir David Amess death: Husband of murdered MP Jo Cox pays tribute

    If you missed it earlier, the widower of Labour MP Jo Cox - who was murdered in her constituency in 2016 - has described how the death of Sir David Amess made him feel.

    Brendan Cox says he was overcome with a "wave of emotion of sadness, of sorrow" when he heard the news.

  15. Sir David 'went above and beyond' to solve problems

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, Radio 4 Today

    Yesterday at the remebrance service in Leigh-on-Sea, Sir David Amess's constituents were telling me about the practical, tangible things he changed in their lives.

    One woman told me: "He was always there if you needed advice, just simple things like if you emailed him, a couple of days he'd get back to you, all sorted.

    "He helped me out with a situation regarding my daughter when she didn't get into a school that we wanted and he went above and beyond to help her there.

    "One of my neighbours contacted him regarding a big wooden pole that was put outside her house, within two days he'd emailed back, that pole was moved.

    "I mean he was there for everybody if you bumped into him on the street, that beaming smile of his and he always shook your hand."

  16. Just joining us? Here's what you need to know

    Today, we are continuing to bring you all the latest news following the death of Sir David Amess. If you haven't been following events, this is what you need to know.

    What happened to Sir David? Shortly after midday on Friday, during a meeting with his constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex, the 69-year-old Conservative MP was stabbed multiple times. He was treated by emergency services but was pronounced dead shortly before 15:00.

    Has anyone been arrested? A 25-year-old British man was arrested at the scene and police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the killing. The man is being held at a London police station and detectives have until Friday to question him.

    What has the reaction been? Sir David's family say their hearts have been "shattered" by his death - but have urged people to "set aside hatred and work towards togetherness". There has been an outpouring of grief and tributes from politicians and Sir David's local community. Meanwhile, questions have also been asked about how MPs can be kept safe.

    What is happening later today? In Westminster today there will be a minute's silence followed by a short statement from the Speaker at around 14:30 BST. In Parliament from 15:30, MPs, led by Boris Johnson, will pay tribute to Sir David. A service at St Margaret's Church, next to Parliament, will follow.

  17. Leigh-on-Sea remembers and celebrates its local MP

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, Radio 4 Today

    Reflecting on yesterday's service at St Michael's church in Leigh-on-Sea, it strikes me that the congregation were mourning, remembering and celebrating a man who was much more than their local MP.

    Sir David Amess was this town's favourite son, their champion, the man who spent every day trying to put Southend on the map - but not this way.

    After the service, a Southend councillor, John Lamb, tells me it did not matter to the town or Sir David that he was not a big political figure on the national stage.

    "He had ambition but it was for other things, not to get on the front bench, it was 'what can I achieve for the town?' and he was tireless...He was a happy person and he tried to bring that joy to everyone else in the town."

    John Lamb, Chairman of Southend West constituency party

  18. Striking number of personal messages among the floral tributes

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, Radio 4 Today

    Floral tributesGetty Images

    Following yesterday's service in memory of Sir David Amess, I went to look at the sea of flowers just a few yards away from where Sir David was killed.

    What's striking is how personal the messages are about the help he gave people.

    One says: "You were always there for me and us as a community." Another reads: "Your help will never be forgotten." A third, in a child's handwriting, states: "Many thanks for everything you've done, not just for me but for Southend as a whole."

    There is a sense that these tributes are not merely a reflection of shock of grief, but a tribute to the work he did as a member of Parliament.

  19. Sir David was a passionate advocate for his town and people

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, Radio 4 Today

    "They're all the same. They're all on the take. They're all in it for themselves."

    How many have allowed themselves to fall for that lazy, destructive cynicsim about those we elect to represent us?

    The killing of Sir David Amess, a 69-year-old man who chose to spend his Friday not playing golf or watching his favourite boxset, but sitting in a church meeting people with problems they wanted his help to solve, is a reminder that politics is often so much better than that.

    Sir David was not a regular in front of this microphone or on those TV politics talk shows, he was never part of any speculation about moves up the greasy pole.

    He was quite simply what so many MPs are, a passionate advocate for his town and his people, as I found out when I spent the day yesterday with those mourning him in his Essex constituency.

  20. Sir David would have hated security at his surgeries - Lord Archer

    Sir David Amess tribute in a churchPA Media

    Lord Jeffrey Archer, a close friend of Sir David Amess, says "he'd have hated" the suggestion that MPs should have security when meeting constituents as he was a "one-on-one person".

    Lord Archer tells BBC Breakfast the tributes to Sir David "quite rightly have been about his amazing constituency work".

    "I fear in future that we are going to have to consider things that David wouldn't have enjoyed. For example I suspect one-on-one meetings will have to have other people in the room at the same time," he says.

    Read more: MPs could get police guards at surgeries