Sir David Amess‘s daughter is suing the police and Home Office for failing to stop his terrorist murderer. Katie Amess wants lessons to be learned after Ali Harbi Ali stabbed Sir David, 69, in October 2021.
Ali, 28, had been referred to the Home Office’s deradicalisation scheme, Prevent, seven years before the stabbing at Sir David’s constituency surgery.
The Islamic State fanatic had fooled officials into thinking he didn’t pose a danger but went on to stab Sir David 21 times as he met constituents at a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
Katie, 38, has lodged a High Court civil case for personal injury against the Home Office and Essex Police.
Daniel Machover, Head of Civil Litigation at Hickman & Rose, told the Mirror: “Like so many others, Katie Amess was horrified both by the fact of her father’s murder, and the circumstances surrounding it.
“She has issued a claim at court as part of her desire to ensure proper accountability and learning from Sir David’s murder.”
Details of the claim haven’t been made public, with papers yet to be presented to the court, according to the Mirror.
The Home Office said it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal cases, but added the Government takes MPs’ safety extremely seriously and significant work has been taken forward in response to Sir David’s tragic killing.
Essex Police told the Mirror it is aware a protective claim form has been filed at court, adding: “However, as these papers have not been served on our force, we are unable to comment any further upon them.”
The spokesperson said: “We remain committed to supporting our elected members across the county in the execution of their public duty and to this end we regularly review and advise around security arrangements for our Members of Parliament. Sir David and the Amess family remain in our thoughts.”
Ali used a false address to deceive Sir David’s staff that he lived in the local area, making the journey from London to Leigh-on-Sea armed with a large kitchen knife used in the attack.
During his Old Bailey trial, jurors heard how ahead of the brutal murder, Ali claimed he wanted to discuss foreign policy but instead pulled the knife from his pocket and stabbed Sir David in the stomach.
Two members of the public heard the killer admit to his crime, but he threatened to stab witnesses, preventing them from going to help the MP.
Ali told them he wanted to kill every MP who voted for bombings in Syria. He was sentenced to a whole life order in April 2022.
