About 80 people attended the vigil last night at St Peter's Catholic Church including friends, members of the local Conservative Association and councillors.

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Speaking to BBC Essex, Judith Canham, the former deputy chair of the Southend West Conservative Association, said: "He is a friend, he was a lovely man, a very kind man. If he could help someone he would."

She added that he had a "photographic memory".

"Sometimes I'd be out canvassing with him and he'd see someone he hadn't seen for a long time and he'd say 'how was your hip operation?'.

"He really did care about other people, it didn't matter which party you were."

Canham also recalled a particular time when he was trying to get a homeless man a bed.

"People don't know these sort of things about politicians - they just think that they're there in Parliament voting and they forget that there's a man behind it - or woman," she said.

"He had a very caring nice side to him, more than most I would say... it's a great tragedy, we've lost him too soon and I'm deeply upset."

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Among those paying tribute to Sir David is the founder of animal rights campaign group Peta, Ingrid Newkirk.

She says animals have "lost a strong, kind ally" in Sir David - who "dedicated his life to making positive changes for the vulnerable among us".

Ms Newkirk highlights his work on introducing the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act in 1988.

"He also campaigned against illegal wildlife trafficking and cruel puppy mills, and he tabled an early day motion to adopt modern research methods that spare animals suffering in painful experiments.

"He fiercely fought against any changes to the Hunting Act 2004 and lent his support to many animal organisations, including Peta."

The organisation plans to honour the MP by adding a leaf with his name on to its Tree of Life memorial.

Image source, UK Parliament

Sir David's' fellow politicians in Essex have been paying tribute, including Clacton's Conservative MP Giles Watling.

"When I first became an MP in 2017, he was the first to welcome me, [and] show me around and when I was standing for election he always came up and said hello and made me feel at home.

"He was just one of life's nice guys... people might not agree with him politically but everybody's there trying to do a job and David was just doing his job.

"I'm devastated and my thoughts and prayers go out to Julia and the rest of his family.

"I think it is just such a cowardly and appalling act to do this kind of thing."

We're hearing this morning from those who knew Sir David Amess in his Essex constituency.

Father Jeff Woolnough - the parish priest at the St Peter's Catholic Church in Eastwood - says Sir David "could settle an awkward discussion very, very quickly".

"It was a great gift," he tells BBC Breakfast.

Woolnough says events like this can bring faith groups together.

Conservative councillor Kevin Buck says the constituency is still in a state of shock over the killing. "He was a very sincere, kind man and that was what he brought to his politics and that's what we've seen from the outpouring of grief in the community at the moment," he says.

"He always had a smile on his face every time you met him, he always looked on the positive side, he was always looking for the good in people," Buck adds.

He says Sir David would not have wanted extra protection at his surgeries - where constituents meet MPs to raise issues - saying: "I don't think he would have approved."

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who tried to save the life of a police officer who was fatally stabbed at the House of Commons in 2018, has told the World Tonight on Radio 4 that MPs should temporarily end face-to-face meetings with constituents until a security review is carried out.

"I would recommend that no MP has a direct surgery," he said.

"You can move to Zoom, there's other ways, you can actually achieve an awful lot over the telephone, you can get things moving far faster than having to wait for the surgery date as well."

Image source, UK Parliament

One of Sir David Amess' Southend constituents, Emma, has summed up the shock the area has felt at his death and how, as an MP, he cared about all of the people he represented and was always ready to debate.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 LIve, she said: "He's done so much for the community, he was a lovely man, and with regard to whatever views you had, he was someone you could be yourself with.

"I think everyone is still quite stunned, it doesn't seem real that this has happened and all I just keep thinking of is what an amazing gentleman he was... it feels weird to use the past tense.

She added how he "took the time to get to know everybody".

"He knew my grandfather, he knew my mother and if he saw me he'd ask of my grandfather and my mother, he really was a people person," she said.

"I had very different views about Brexit, especially as time went on, but I knew I could talk to him about it, we agreed to disagree.

"[He was a] really kind, funny, intelligent and strong person, I think he's left such an amazing legacy and that's never going to end."

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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, whose sister MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, says people still come up to her and "talk about where they were when Jo was killed".

The Speaker of the House of Commons, who went ahead with his own constituency surgery last night, has said security measures for MPs will need to be looked at.

Speaking to the BBC, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: "We've got to make sure politicians are safe, and the people who work for them, their family, [and] the people of the House of Commons.

"What we won't do, we won't give in to it, we will continue to ensure that democracy will be there.

"We've got to make sure we have that relationship with our electors, that's the unique part of British politics, but we've got to make sure MPs are safe."

Reaction to the death of Sir David Amess has been coming in from around the world.

Overnight, Australia's Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews tweeted, external: "I am shocked and saddened by the murder of British MP Sir David Amess as he met with his constituents in the UK.

"The Australian Government sends our condolences and sympathies to his family, friends, Parliamentary colleagues and the community he served."

Conservative MP Shailesh Vara tells Newsnight there is "a lot more" aggression coming from the public towards elected representatives in recent times.

"The emails are a lot more hostile, the language is more aggressive," he says.

Vara says he has spoken to some of those who send such messages and says they often think using aggressive language is not a problem.

Former Labour MP Paula Sherriff tells Newsnight that a balance has to be struck between keeping MPs and others in public life safe, and giving access to their constituents.

"The vast majority of MPs - irrespective of which party you represent - want to do the best for their constituents," she says. "We want to engage, we want to participate and we want to listen and we want to be where our constituents are."

She says that nobody would enjoy the concept of having armed police outside advice surgeries, but she says that a review has to be carried out to make sure that everything that can be done is being done.

Image source, Getty Images

If you are just joining us this morning, here are the latest developments following the death of Sir David Amess.

Police say the killing is now being treated as a terrorist incident.

The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation into the stabbing, which happened at Sir David's constituency surgery at around 12:05 BST on Friday.

The police say that early investigations have "revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism".

A 25-year-old British man is being held at an Essex police station on suspicion of murder.

Two properties in London are being searched by officers but police say they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the killing.

One of those leading the tributes to Sir David Amess on Friday was Boris Johnson.

The prime minister described the Southend West MP as one of the "kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics".

Mr Johnson said Sir David had served the people of Essex for nearly 40 years and said he had an "outstanding record of passing laws to help the most vulnerable".

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The sister of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, who is now an MP herself, says a lot of people's lives will have been changed by Sir David's death.

Ms Cox was killed in 2016 outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery.

Kim Leadbeater became Labour MP for Batley and Spen - the seat formerly held by her sister - in July.

She said she was "totally shocked by what has happened, to think that something so horrific could happen again to another MP, to another family".

"The shock and the feelings for us as a family, obviously what we went through and another family are going through that again, it's horrific," she said.

"The main people I am thinking about are David's family, his friends and the community he represents and has represented for such a long time.

"I think that's the thing that people need to understand, it's about a lot of people whose lives have changed forever today."

She said that many other MPs, like her, would be scared after what has happened today.

"My partner came home and said 'I don't want you to do it any more,' because the next time that phone goes, it could be a different conversation," she added.

Image source, Getty Images

As well as his political colleagues people have been paying tribute to Sir David Amess from his local community, including those at the nearby St Peter's Catholic Church.

Sir David was a Catholic and Father Jeff Woolnough, the parish priest at St Peter's, praised him as a "friend to all".

He led a mass on Friday evening in memory of Sir David, describing him as "Mr Southend".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

A police constable who fought to bring about new laws in the UK to prosecute more severely those who injured service animals has told of his "heartbreak" at learning of Sir David Amess's death.

In a video posted on Twitter, PC Dave Wardell said he had met Sir David many times and described him as a "huge animal advocate".

"He was a fantastic help with Finn's Law, Finn's Law part two and many other incredible animal welfare changes."

Finn's Law is named after the German shepherd police dog Finn who was stabbed and seriously hurt as he protected PC Wardell from an attacker in 2016.

Nicknamed "Finn's Law", the legislation makes it harder for those who harm service animals to claim they were acting in self-defence.

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The death of Conservative MP Sir David Amess has sent shockwaves across the UK and prompted Home Secretary Priti Patel to ask police to review of MPs' security.

But the killing - which has been declared a terrorist incident by police - is not the first on a British MP:

• Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016. Cox was killed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery. Thomas Mair shouted "Britain first" before shooting and stabbing Cox. Prosecutors said Mair was motivated by hate and his crimes were "nothing less than acts of terrorism"
• A woman stabbed Labour MP Stephen Timms at a constituency surgery in Newham, London in 2010. Roshonara Choudhry said the attack was in revenge for his vote for the Iraq war. She was jailed for life
• Liberal Democrat Nigel Jones was Cheltenham's MP when he was wounded and his aide, Andrew Pennington, stabbed to death with a sword in 2000 during a surgery. Robert Ashman was jailed for the attempted murder of Jones and Pennington's manslaughter

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The Southend West MP Sir David Amess was holding a surgery in a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday 15 October when he was fatally stabbed to death.

Sir David was known for being passionate about his job - and constituents and colleagues spoke of his boundless enthusiasm for his role.

At lunchtime, just minutes before he was killed, the 69-year-old father of five was seen standing on the church steps, chatting and laughing with locals.

Police arrived on the scene shortly after the stabbing and despite the efforts of paramedics, police confirmed at about 15:00 BST that Mr Amess had died.

Since the announcement of his killing, tributes have poured in for the man from across all political parties and and his constituents.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated many of the comments when he said that Amess was "one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics".

More now on the killing of Sir David Amess being declared a terrorist incident by police:

• The Metropolitan Police said there was "a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism"

• As part of the investigation, officers are currently carrying out searches at two addresses in the London area, the Met said

• The 25-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder is currently in custody at a police station in Essex

• The force believes the man acted alone but inquiries into the circumstances of the incident are continuing

• Government sources have told the BBC the man is a British national who, from initial inquiries, appears to be of Somali heritage

Sir David Amess has been described as "one of the kindest, most gentle people in politics".

The killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess has been declared a terrorist incident by police.

Sir David was stabbed multiple times at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on Friday.