The home secretary has paid tribute to her “dear and loyal friend” Sir David Amess ahead of a two-hour adjournment in Parliament, which will allow MPs to pay similar respects in the House of Commons.
“He had a huge number of friends in his house, in his constituency, Essex and well beyond,” Priti Patel told MPs, adding “decency ran through him like the writing in a stick of Southend rock”.
It comes after the special session began with a minute’s silence to “remember and respect” the life of Sir David, who was stabbed to death on Friday while giving a constituency surgery.
Julia Amess, Sir David’s widow, was pictured wiping tears from her face as she visited her late husband’s murder scene today and read messages on dozens of floral tributes. Accompanied by the couple’s daughters, Mrs Amess headed to Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where the Tory MP was murdered.
MPs are invited to attend a service for Sir David in St Margaret’s Church within Westminster Abbey later today, at around 6pm.
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Southend to be given city status in tribute to David Amess
Boris Johnson has announced that Southend will be granted city status in a tribute to Sir David Amess, reports our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn.
The prime minister’s remarks followed a minute’s silence in the Commons chamber for the 69-year-old Conservative MP, who was killed while conducting a constituency surgery on Friday in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
“I am happy to announce that Her Majesty has agreed that Southend will be accorded city status,” Mr Johnson said in a nod to the longtime campaign of Sir David.
Johnson labels Amess ‘one of the kindest’ individuals to grace Westminster
Boris Johnson said all MPs mourn with Sir David’s family and labelled him one of the “nicest, kindest and most gentle individuals ever to grace” the Commons benches.
The PM told the Commons:
“Sir David was taken from us in a contemptible act of violence striking at the core of what it is to be a member of this House, and violating both the sanctity of the church in which he was killed and the constituency surgery that is so essential to our representative democracy.
“But we will not allow the manner of Sir David’s death in any way to detract from his accomplishments as a politician or as a human being.
“Sir David was a patriot who believed passionately in this country, in its people and in its future. He was also one of the nicest, kindest and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches.”
Southend to be given city status, PM announces
Boris Johnson has announced that the Queen has agreed Southend will be granted city status following the murder of MP Sir David Amess.
It is a measure Sir David spent the large majority of his political career fighting for.
PM leads tributes to ‘steadfast’ Sir David Amess
Boris Johnson is now paying tributes to Sir David Amess. He told the House of Commons:
“The passing of 72 hours has done little to numb the shock and sadness we all felt when we heard of the tragic and senseless death of Sir David.
“This House has lost a steadfast servant, we’ve lost a dear friend and colleague, and Julia and her children have lost a loving husband and devoted father.
“Nothing I or anyone else can say can lessen the pain, the grief, the anger they must feel at this darkest of times.”
Another Tory MP has received death threat since Amess murder, LBC reveals
Patel remembers ‘decent’ and ‘good-humoured’ colleague David Amess
The home secretary has paid tribute to Sir David Amess ahead of the two-hour session scheduled for MPs to do this, due to start at 3.30pm.
Priti Patel paid tribute to her “dear and loyal friend” and said the Home Office, and government, was “utterly devastated” for his “wife, children and loved ones”.
“He had a huge number of friends in his house, in his constituency, Essex and well beyond,” she told MPs, adding Sir David support “diverse causes on people and much loved animals” and often “enlivened [the] house by calls for city status for Southend”.
Ms Patel said Sir David always “conducted business of politics in a “civilised and good-humoured way”.
“Decency ran through him like the writing in a stick of Southend rock,” she said, adding: “Let’s reflect passionate commitment for the people we serve.”
Watch: Amess family read tributes at murder scene
Minute’s silence held for David Amess outside church where he was killed
A minute’s silence in honour of MP Sir David Amess has also been observed outside the church where he was stabbed to death.
A police officer blew a whistle to signal the start and finish of the minute outside Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex.
Julia Amess (centre) is pictured visiting tributes outside the murder scene of her late husband, the Tory MP Sir David Amess
” height=”726″ width=”982″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/10/18/15/newFile-5.jpg?width=640&auto=webp&quality=75 640w” layout=”responsive” class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Julia Amess (centre) is pictured visiting tributes outside the murder scene of her late husband, the Tory MP Sir David Amess
No 10 denies PM and Carrie Johnson broke lockdown rules at Christmas
In case you missed this story from earlier, Downing Street has denied Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie broke lockdown rules to have a close friend stay over during the Christmas period.
It follows reports the political campaigner and government adviser Nimco Ali spent time with the Johnsons in No 10 over the festive break, writes Ashley Cowburn.
Raising questions for the PM, US magazine Harper’s reported that Ms Ali, who was given an official advisory role at the Home Office in December 2020, “spent Christmas with the couple at No 10 despite pandemic restrictions on holiday gatherings”.
But a No 10 spokesperson told The Independent: “The prime minister and Mrs Johnson have followed coronavirus rules at all times. It is totally untrue to suggest otherwise.”
Patel gives brief security update in Commons
Priti Patel has given a brief update on security in Parliament following a question.
“There will be further updates over the next few days for members of parliament and in terms of wider public protection,” the home secretary says.
Labour MP Chris Bryant – after paying respect to Sir David Amess, a right-wing Catholic, for being someone “who didn’t agree with me about gay marriage but always asked after my husband” – asks how government can change its “toxic way of doing politics”.
Ms Patel replies: “We see far too much cruelty online and all of us have a responsibility and a duty to work together … when it comes to this place and public life I would use one word and that is respect”.
