Tributes paid to Sir David Amess on first anniversary of his murder
People who worked with the veteran MP share their memories
A year on from the murder of Sir David Amess, local colleagues have been paying tribute to the veteran Southend West MP.
The 69-year-old father of five was stabbed to death while meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on 15th October 2021.
Jurors found Sir David's killer, Ali Harbi Ali, guilty of murder after just 18 minutes of deliberation at the Old Bailey in April, and he was handed a whole-life prison term.
To mark the first anniversary of his death, a tree will be planted in his memory at Chalkwell Park from 11am on Saturday 15th October.
Councillors, MPs and local faith leaders will attend the planting.
The tree will be planted using compost from the many flowers that were left across the area in the days and weeks following his murder.
Anna Firth MP
Anna Firth, who was elected as Sir David's replacement at a by-election in February remembers him: "I genuinely think to this day no-one can really believe that such a lovely, lovely man and fantastic MP could be taken from us just going about his job, doing the most brilliant job, and in a church," she said.
Sir David had served Southend West since 1997, and Basildon before that since 1983, and Ms Firth said it was "as if he knew everybody".
"It was as if he was a headmaster who didn't just have 500 pupils to know and look after," she said.
"He had 70,000 and he knew every one of them."
Ms Firth said it was an "enormous privilege" to serve as his successor and "hard in one sense because people need to talk".
"They need to talk about their memories of Sir David and their reflections," she said.
"But because he was such an amazing MP it means that there's a fantastic legacy.
"My biggest problem is how to do as many things as Sir David did.
"I'm convinced he must have had about six body doubles following him around the constituency.
"He supported so many people and so many charities and to such a high level, so it's a challenge but it's a wonderful challenge to have."
Southend Mayor, Cllr Kevin Robinson
Mayor of Southend City, Councillor Kevin Robinson told us he'd known Sir David for a long time: "I've been connected with Southend since around the Millennium, and Sir David had always been there...
"His work on getting us city status, on animal welfare, endometriosis and a range of other causes he championed throughout his career proved to the people of Southend that his wasn't just a one trick pony.
"That's why, whether you politically agreed with him or not, you were minded to respect the work he did in a variety of fields...
"He was always decent and respectful when I met him and he was always happy to help with constituents' enquiries when they came through.
"He was greatly respected across Southend."
Mark Francois MP
Mark Francios, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, was close friends with Sir David. He told us how he's coped: "It's been difficult since he died, because Sir David was my best friend in parliament. For anyone to lose one of their best friends, particularly in a challenging job, it's never easy.
"I and many of my colleagues have been able to comfort ourselves with the wonderful reaction from the public and especially from his constituents.
"The outpouring of love for him shows he was an immensely popular constituency MP....
"Life's just that little bit poorer without him...
"I never had a boring day in David's company. One of the great things about him was that he had an incredible sense of humour, and you never knew what the bloke was going to do next.
"When I paid tribute to him in the Commons, I said he was the best bloke I ever knew, and that remains true."
Sir David's Aide
An aide of murdered MP Sir David Amess has vowed to continue with projects that he was passionate about, as she paid tribute to her "very close friend" a year on from his death.
Constituency assistant Julie Cushion was at the church where the Southend West MP was fatally stabbed on October 15 2021, and she gave evidence at the trial of his killer, Ali Harbi Ali, at the Old Bailey.
The court heard that 60-year-old Ms Cushion, who now works for Sir David's successor, Anna Firth, made the first 999 call from the scene.
Ms Cushion described the impact of Sir David's death as "profound", adding: "Because I didn't just lose a boss, I lost a friend, a very close friend."
"That had a heck of an impact," she said, "But there were things that he was determined he wanted to see happen and I saw that as part of my role to continue those things.
"One of them is the Music Man Project (a musical education charity for people with disabilities), which is quite well renowned. David got them the opportunity to perform at the Royal Albert Hall and to perform at the Palladium.
"The next thing he wanted to see happen was for them to perform on Broadway, and I've been very proud to become a trustee to try to make sure that that happens.
"The other thing he wanted to see happen is a memorial to one of this nation's icons, and that's Dame Vera Lynn, so I've joined the family, we've set up a charity, and we're determined to see that completed as well, and he will be included in that memorial, which is lovely to see."
Ms Cushion said she regrets that Sir David did not live to become Father of the House - the MP with the longest record of continuous service: "That was something he really would have loved and something we would have loved to have seen happen.
She said working with Sir David was "never ever boring", recalling how he "wanted to make Southend the alternative city of culture when he was really peed off we didn't get City of Culture".
"He used to do the craziest of things. When he was knighted, he borrowed a horse from the local riding stable, hired a knight outfit and got up on a horse dressed as a knight.
"Who else would do it?"
She continued: "You always knew David had entered a room. He was that larger-than-life personality and very good at working a room - he would make sure he spoke to everybody.
"But I have to say his timekeeping was absolutely appalling.
"He had a reputation for being late for everything, but that's because he would cram in getting around so many events in a day or an evening so the ultimate effect of that is he would always be late."
She said she will remember Sir David as "an irreplaceable friend".
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