Sir David Amess: Call for debate to be renamed after Southend MP

Sir David Amess was fatally stabbed during a constituency surgery in October

An annual House of Commons debate should be renamed in honour of Sir David Amess, MPs have said.

The MP for Southend West was fatally stabbed during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex in October.

The tribute would see the debate, held before the summer recess, renamed "the Sir David Amess debate".

Fellow Tory MP, Bob Blackman, said his contributions to pre-recess adjournment debates were remarkable.

Sir David Amess regularly attended and would often rattle through a list of issues, including his regular call for Southend to be made a city.

The hearse carrying the coffin of Sir David Amess MP crosses Parliament Square after leaving the Palace of Westminster last month

Mr Blackman said the Commons backbench business committee has requested for the adjournment debate be renamed.

The MP for Harrow East said: "This is the first pre-recess adjournment debate which will take place without Sir David Amess. It will not be as good a debate because he's not here.

"His performance at these debates was always remarkable."

Sir David was first elected for the Southend West seat in 1997, and before that he had been MP for Basildon since 1983

During the pre-Christmas recess debate on Thursday, Conservative MP David Johnston spoke of his sadness that Sir David was not present.

The MP for Wantage said: "The joy of this debate was not getting to speak in it yourself, but getting to see his tour de force.

"Because most of us decide between the 30, 40, 50 issues which small handful we will raise, and he just raised them all.

"And it was a sight to behold. And I think we very much will always miss that contribution."