The daughter of David Amess, murdered by an Islamic State supporter at his MP surgery, says she was “catastrophically” failed by the government’s Prevent programme.
Katie Amess reportedly launched a High Court civil case for personal injury against the Home Office and Essex Police earlier this year following her father’s murder in 2021.
Sir David, 69, was stabbed 21 times by Ali Harbi Ali, who pretended to be a constituent interested in local churches before launching an attack he had planned for seven years outside the constituency surgery held at a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea.
Ali, 28, had been referred to the Home Office’s deradicalisation scheme Prevent seven years earlier but boasted he was able to look compliant when dealing with the organisation.
He was sentenced in 2022 to a whole-life prison term.
“We know the guy did it,” Sir David’s daughter Katie told The Sunday Times.
“I just want to know how and why he was allowed to … What has been changed to ensure that this never happens again and that another family doesn’t have to go through the absolute heartbreak and trauma that has just shattered our world?”
“The police told us they didn’t follow up with him due to an admin error,” said Ms Amess, who wants a full inquest into her father’s death.
According to the coroner’s report, Ali’s six-month review of his Prevent case was “missed” and then his yearly review revealed “nothing of concern”.
Ms Amess said: “He was reported. People were trying to help us. And so why was he allowed to just go on and do whatever he wanted for seven years? What happened to my dad should not have been an admin error.”
“It’s pretty obvious that Prevent isn’t fit for purpose, it has consistently failed people,” Ms Amess said. “It failed me. It failed my family catastrophically, it failed the public and also it failed other members of parliament.”
Sir David was born and raised in the county he served. He was grammar school-educated and studied economics and government at Bournemouth University. The married father-of-five was first elected an MP in 1983 for the Essex town of Basildon.
Just the day before her father’s murder, Ms Amess’s older brother, David, was left a threat to harm and rape him and his father over a voicemail.
Essex Police officers drove by the Amess family home to check for suspicious activity that same night but didn’t provide security for his tragic surgery the next day.
The coroner concluded the threat was “taken seriously” with police later deciding it was unrelated to the murder, but his daughter still feels the force failed her father.
“We fully presumed that they would provide protection the next day,” she told The Sunday Times. “But they failed us massively. You work for the people. You’re protecting society. That’s your job … Just one threat should be enough.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Sir David Amess’ family and friends.
“The attack on Sir David Amess was an awful tragedy, the safety of members of parliament is paramount, and significant work has been taken forward in response to his tragic killing.
“Prevent is a vital tool to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism and tackles all ideological causes of terrorism.”
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “Sir David Amess was a thoroughly committed public servant who worked tirelessly for his community.
“In the immediate aftermath of his murder, two of our heroic unarmed officers ran into the face of danger, trying desperately to save him and of course detaining his killer.”
The force added: “We are aware that what is in effect a protective claim form has been filed at court, however as these papers have not been served on our force, we are unable to comment any further upon them.
“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.”
Essex Police added that “as with all forces up and down the country”, it does not provide officers to police constituency surgeries.
