Amess murder suspect named
“The killer of Tory MP Sir David Amess planned the murderous assault more than a week in advance, security sources have told The Mail on Sunday. As police continued to question a 25-year-old British man of Somalian descent last night, sources revealed that the attacker had booked an appointment at Sir David’s constituency surgery before stabbing the politician 17 times. The suspect was named last night as Ali Harbi Ali, the son of a former communications adviser to the prime minister of Somalia. Harbi Ali Kullane, confirmed that his son was in police custody following the stabbing and said he was ‘traumatised’ by the arrest.” – Mail on Sunday
MPs to be offered more protection at surgeries. But they differ on how to respond to the killing.
“MPs are to be offered routine police protection or private security guards at weekly constituency surgeries in the wake of the murder of Sir David Amess. Priti Patel, the home secretary, and Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, are keen to preserve the “unique link” between MPs and their constituents, while balancing the risk of face-to-face meetings. Under plans being examined as part of the home secretary’s security review, every MP would be entitled to security while meeting members of the public at their surgeries. Metal detectors could also be used.” – Sunday Times
- “The suggestion that the killing of Sir David Amess could have been linked to his Catholic faith is a reminder that, in France, a number of priests and worshippers have been targeted in recent years.” – Sunday Times
- Two addresses searched, Al-Shabaab online radicalisation theory, suspect may be charged under terror legislation which could lead to a whole life sentence – Sun on Sunday
- He was referred to Prevent but not on MI5’s list – Sunday Telegraph
- Six more days to quiz him – Sun on Sunday
- Obsessive sought to burn down David Cameron’s home – Mail on Sunday
- Johnson and Starmer pay tribute together in Southend – Sunday Telegraph
- Police forces contacting MPs to discuss their security – Observer
- Trolls deluge MPs with murder and rape threats – Sunday Times
- Davis, Largan, Percy, Shelbrooke say that MPs can’t be separated from their constituents – Mail on Sunday
- Williams, Mullen and others tweet as surgeries go ahead – Observer
- Vara and Walker on the fear that stalks MPs – Observer
- McVey recalls threats – Sunday Express
- Warner says social media companies must do more to protect MPs online – Sunday Telegraph
- I was gagged: YouTube’s threat to free speech – David Davis, Sunday Express
- Parliament calls in new security firm – Sunday Telegraph
- Sources claim that Labour and the LibDems won’t stand a candidate in the Southend by-election – Sunday Express
- Hundreds of mourners carry lanterns and candles – Mail on Sunday
- Parish priest’s tribute – Mail on Sunday
- Southend mosques’ tribute – Mail on Sunday
- The priest prevented from giving Amess the last rites – Mail on Sunday
- Calls for the town to be made a city, in honour of Amess’ campaign to that end – Mail on Sunday
- Dogged Sir David and the laws that he changed – Sunday Telegraph
- Picture tributes – Observer
The Sunday Times: We cannot allow MPs to be barred from their constituents
“Yes, MPs should take greater precautions in the way that they interact with the public, and they should, if necessary, be given greater resources to make themselves, their staff and other constituents attending their surgeries more secure. What we should not do is allow this senseless murder to change one of the essential features of our democracy. That would give the terrorists, assuming this is proved to be a terrorist attack, a victory that they do not deserve. If MPs were deprived of direct contact with their constituents, the democratic process would suffer and the country would be poorer as a result. Sir David, who was aware of the dangers, would not have wanted that. Neither should anybody else.” – Editorial
- Our democracy must be protected, but so must the safety of our MPs – Kim Leadbeater, Sunday Times
- Vital relationship between MPs and public mustn’t be broken – Sun on Sunday Editorial
- Violence mustn’t undermine democracy – Sunday Telegraph Editorial
- Horror and dismay must not keep our MPs hidden away – Mail on Sunday Editorial
- Meeting people who elected us is the essence of being an MP – Lindsay Hoyle, Mail on Sunday
- And he writes in the Sun on Sunday
- And the Observer
- I was back in the day when Jo was attacked – Brendan Cox, Sun on Sunday
- We have a responsibility to keep MPs safe – Jacqui Smith, Sunday Telegraph
- Amess knew that good faith and manners are the basis of our civilisation – Sunday Times
- He put duty over danger to constituents – Iain Duncan Smith, Sun on Sunday
- He didn’t need a focus group to tell right from wrong – Alex Story, Sunday Express
- My friend’s life showed the meaning of kindness – Stephen Cottrell, Sunday Telegraph
- Stop toxic abuse – Tony Parsons, The Sun
Dan Hodges: Stop the anti-Tory hate
“But when an elected Member of Parliament has just been stabbed to death in their constituency surgery – and a house of worship – it’s also important not to hide unpalatable truths…f the brutal killing of a Conservative MP should not be used to draw inappropriate political parallels, it should at least give people pause. And more specifically, it should give people on the Left pause…This morning, we have to begin to talk about and confront the scourge of Left-wing extremism. It is a very different creature to the extremism of the Right. It is less overtly violent. But it is equally toxic and represents an equal risk to our democracy and its parliamentary representatives. Because, crucially, it does not reside on the political margins.” – Mail on Sunday
> Today:
- ToryDiary – “Lone wolves”
- WATCH: Dale interviews Amess about his life in public service
> Yesterday:
- ToryDiary: The rising price of public service. “Costing not less than everything”.
- WATCH: “All our hearts are full of shock and sadness”. The Prime Minister.
Sunak “horrified by cost of Net Zero”
“Mr Sunak was horrified by calculations from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), putting the cost of making all buildings in the country net zero for carbon emissions at £400 billion. The strategies have been devised by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who clashed with Mr Sunak last weekend when he claimed to be in talks with the Treasury over financial support for firms hit by the high energy prices – only for the Treasury to accuse him of ‘making things up’…The source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The mandarins at the Treasury think Boris can only think in the short term and is effectively economically illiterate.’ However, other Government sources said last night that the UK’s borrowing position was expected to improve over the coming year.” – Mail on Sunday
- Meet the Net Zero Scrutiny Group: about “40 MPs” are involved – Charlotte Ivens, Sunday Times
- Johnson v Sunak write-through – Tim Shipman, Sunday Times
- Centre for Policy Studies says there is a strong case for freezing fuel and alcohol duties – Sun on Sunday
- Ghani wants wine duty cut – Sun on Sunday
- Enough royal lectures on eco-catastrophes – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times
- The climate change cult – Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph
- COP26 and Johnson – Andrew Rawnsley, Observer
- Johnson seeks summit with Visegrad 4: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – Sunday Express
Ministers plan walk-in vaccine clinics for schoolchildren
“Walk-in vaccine clinics for schoolchildren will be unveiled within weeks in an effort to speed up the jabs rollout. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Ministers are planning to launch the scheme for 12-to- 15-year-olds shortly. It comes amid concern that the Government has been far too slow in rolling out the vaccination programme in schools. Sources also claim the new clinics are an attempt to keep anti-vaxxers away from the school gates. Last night, there were fresh calls to speed up the vaccination of teenagers after an analysis of official figures by The Mail on Sunday found almost half of new Covid cases in England are now in the under-20s.” – Mail on Sunday
- Marc Warner, the man who changed Johnson’s mind over lockdown – Sunday Times
- My loss of faith in test and trace – Rob Colvile, Sunday Times
- Age of the curfew – Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
Raab: I will rein in abuses of the Human Rights Act
“In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Raab sets out government concerns that judicial reviews are being used to “harpoon” major infrastructure projects like the construction of new roads. The process is also currently being used to take legal action to overturn immigration tribunal rulings in “unmeritorious cases”, Mr Raab says. “We have something like 750 of these a year, the success rate is 3 per cent,” says Mr Raab, a former Foreign Office lawyer. “This is people challenging their appeal decision, and then the upper tribunal’s refusal to let them appeal again. I think it’s crazy. It’s crazy from the point of view of protecting the tribunal … It’s crazy for the immigration system to have that litigation attrition against them. And … I think fundamentally from a taxpayer’s point of view, it’s a waste of money, waste of waste of resource, skewing outcomes.” – Sunday Telegraph
Trevelyan eyes New Zealand trade deal
“Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary, hopes to announce a deal which would see tariffs slashed on goods such as gin, chocolate, clothing, cars and buses, and allow level-playing field access for British investors to the country. In return, British shoppers will be able to choose between a wider range of ‘high-end’ lamb from New Zealand, while levies of up to 20p a bottle on the country’s successful wine industry would also be slashed. Tariffs of up to 10 per cent on UK products would be dropped, giving British exporters an advantage over international rivals in the New Zealand import market, which is expected to grow by 30 per cent by 2030. “ – Mail on Sunday
- Global Britain can be an unstoppable force for good – Liam Fox, Sunday Express
Hancock job offer withdrawn
“The unpaid job offer was revoked on a technicality just days after it was offered, following stinging criticism by leading figures across Africa and UK opposition parties. Mr Hancock, 42, had planned to balance his roles as a Tory backbencher while working with the international aid giant, after he was offered the role by General Vera Songwe for his ‘success’ in handling the UK’s pandemic response. But on Friday, a UN spokesman confirmed that Mr Hancock’s appointment was not going to be ‘taken forward’ after it emerged sitting members of Parliament could not simultaneously serve as UN special representatives.” – Mail on Sunday