UK Conservative MP Sir David Amess dies after being stabbed 'multiple times'

A Conservative UK MP died after being stabbed 'multiple times' on Friday, 15 October at his own constituency surgery at a church in Essex, reported Sky News. Sir David Amess, who represents Southend West in Essex was attacked at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, by a 25-year-old man who was arrested after the police arrived at the crime scene and a knife was also recovered, as per the Essex Police official release.

The 69-year-old Amess was reportedly receiving treatment for his wounds. Amess has been the Tory MP for Southend West since 1997 and was a strong advocate for Brexit or Britain leaving the European Union (EU).

The Surrey Health Labour denounced the attack on Amess and said that its members are “shocked" adding, "All of our thoughts are with Sir David, his family and friends, and we hope he makes a quick recovery.” The leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer called the news “horrific and deeply shocking.”

Without mentioning Amess, the Essex police said in a statement following the incident that a man has been arrested following an incident in Leigh-on-Sea. It further added, “We were called to reports of a stabbing in Eastwood Rd North shortly after 12.05 pm. A man was arrested shortly after & we're not looking for anyone else.”

Stabbings involving UK MPs

The latest attack on Amess came after a Labour MP, Jo Cox was killed on 16 June 2016. Cox was a member of the parliament for Batley and Spen and she died after being shot and stabbed multiple times in Birstall, West Yorkshire. In her murder, Cox’s 53-year-old gardener was found guilty of her murder along with other offences linked to the incident. 

Prior to Cox, the last attack on the UK’s Member of the Parliament in a constituency surgery involved Liberal Democrat Nigel Jones who survived. Jones was attacked with a samurai sword in 2000. However, his assistant was stabbed to death on 28 January 2000 when he tried to protect the lawmaker. The attacker reportedly stormed his constituency office in Cheltenham, with a sword killing his personal aide, Andy Pennington. Notably, British MPs are rarely accompanied by bodyguards at constituency surgeries.

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