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world news Diasabra 16 OctOber 2021

UK counterterror officers lead probe in lawmaker’s slaying

(AP) — A long-serving member Sir David. sionate, well liked colleagues in Par- Kim Leadbeater, Jo Cox’s sister and
of Parliament was stabbed to liament. But I can’t. I feel sick. I am now a member of Parliament herself,
death Friday during a meeting Politicians from across the political lost.” said it was “horrific” that Amess’ fam-
with constituents at a church in spectrum expressed shock and sor- ily was experiencing what hers had
England, an attack that united row at the death of Amess, who leaves Scottish First Minister Nicola Stur- gone through.
Britain’s fractious politicians in a wife and five children. Flags at Par- geon of the Scottish National Party
shock and sorrow. A 25-year-old liament were lowered to half-staff. said on Twitter: “In a democracy, poli- “They will think about this every
man was arrested at the scene. ticians must be accessible and open to single day for the rest of their lives,”
“This is an incident that will send scrutiny, but no one deserves to have she said.
Police said that counterterrorism of- shockwaves across the parliamentary their life taken while working for and
ficers were leading the investigation community and the whole country,” representing their constituents.” “I find myself now working as a poli-
into the slaying of Conservative law- House of Commons Speaker Lind- Archbishop of Canterbury Justin tician and trying to do good things for
maker David Amess but that they had say Hoyle said. “In the coming days Welby, head of the Church of Eng- people, and it’s really important you
not yet determined whether it was a we will need to discuss and examine land, said the killing was a blow to get good people in public life, but
terrorist attack. They did not identify MPs’ security and any measures to “everyone who desires a peaceful and this is the risk we are all taking, and
the suspect, who was held on suspi- be taken, but for now, our thoughts flourishing democracy.” so many MPs will be scared by this.”
cion of murder. and prayers are with David’s family,
friends and colleagues.”
“The investigation is in its very early
stages,” Essex Police Chief Constable Violence against British politicians is
Ben-Julian Harrington said. rare, but concerns have grown in re-
cent years about the increasingly bit-
The slaying came five years after an- ter polarization of the country’s poli-
other MP, Jo Cox, was murdered by a tics. Several people have been jailed
far-right extremist in her small-town in recent years for threatening British
constituency, and it renewed concern lawmakers.
about the risks politicians run as they
go about their work representing vot- In 2016, a week before the country’s
ers. British politicians generally are divisive Brexit referendum, Cox, a
not given police protection when Labour Party lawmaker, was fatally
they meet with their constituents. stabbed and shot in her northern
England constituency. An extremist
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was convicted.
he and his Cabinet were “deeply
shocked and heart-stricken.” British lawmakers are protected by
armed police when they are inside
“David was a man who believed pas- Parliament, and security there was
sionately in this country and in its fu- tightened after an attacker inspired by
ture, and we’ve lost today a fine pub- the Islamic State group fatally stabbed
lic servant and a much-loved friend a police officer at the gates in 2017.
and colleague,” Johnson said.
But politicians have no such protec-
The prime minister would not say tion in their constituencies. Amess
whether the attack meant politicians published the times and locations of
needed tighter security, saying, “We his open meetings with constituents
must really leave the police to get on on his website.
with their investigation.”
Two other British lawmakers have
Amess, 69, was attacked around mid- been attacked over the past two de-
day at a Methodist church in the cades during their “surgeries,” regu-
town of Leigh-on-Sea, about 40 miles lar meetings where constituents can
(62 kilometers) east of London. Para- present concerns and complaints.
medics tried without success to save
him. Police arrested the suspect and Labour legislator Stephen Timms
recovered a knife. was stabbed in the stomach in 2010
by a student radicalized by online
“We are not looking for anyone else in sermons from an al-Qaida-linked
connection with the incident and do preacher.
not believe there is an ongoing threat
to the wider public,” police said. In 2000, Liberal Democrat Nigel
Jones and his aide Andrew Penning-
Amess had been a member of Par- ton were attacked by a man wielding
liament for Southend West, which a sword during such a meeting. Pen-
includes Leigh-on-Sea, since 1997, nington was killed and Jones wound-
and had been a lawmaker since 1983, ed in the attack in Cheltenham, Eng-
making him one of the longest-serv- land.
ing politicians in the House of Com-
mons. Former Prime Minister Theresa May,
a Conservative, tweeted that Amess’
A social conservative on the right of killing was a “tragic day for our de-
his party, he was a well-liked figure mocracy,” and former Labour Prime
with a reputation for working hard Minister Tony Blair said he was
for his constituents and campaigning “shocked and horrified.”
ceaselessly to have Southend declared
a city. Conservative lawmaker Tracey
Crouch tweeted: “Heartbroken. I
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth could write reams on how Sir David
II in 2015 for his service, becoming was one of the kindest, most compas-