A year on from the murder of Sir David Amess: "He would have wanted us to keep going"

Almost a year on from the murder of Sir David Amess in his Essex constituency, we've been taking a look at MP security.

The successor of murdered MP Sir David Amess says she's determined to keep meeting constituents face to face but has had to increase security at her surgeries.

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.

The attack raised concerns over MP security, particularly alongside the 2016 murder of MP Jo Cox, which occurred in similar circumstances.

It's led many to question whether it's safe for MPs to keep meeting the public face to face.

Anna Firth was elected as MP for Southend West at a by-election in February.

Speaking a year on from Sir David's murder, 56-year-old Ms Firth said: "One of the things I was very determined to do in carrying on his legacy was to continue meeting people face to face.

"I think it's a really important aspect of an MP's job that people can contact you if they've got problems.

"It's something that David thought as well."

She said she has continued with surgeries, but they are now held "where we've got slightly more security".

"I think in some ways obviously I would rather we didn't have any barriers to seeing your MP but I would far rather that we do things safely, particularly as some of my staff were also involved with Sir David and I'm really, really lucky that some of his team have stayed with me," Ms Firth said.

"It's really important that we keep them safe."

Mark Francios, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, and a close friend of Sir David, agrees that the practice must continue: "Within the British parliamentary system, that link between an MP and their constituents is fundamental.

"Whether they carry out surgeries by Zoom, phone or in person, the really critical thing is that a constituent that needs help should still be able to contact their MP, because if we allow that link to be broken, then the bad guys are winning.

"David, of all people, would have wanted us to keep going."

John Lamb, chairman of the Southend West Conservative Association, said Sir David had wanted to meet his constituents in the community.

The 74-year-old said: "We used to have surgeries (at Sir David's constituency office) but for David it wasn't good enough.

"Because the bus services weren't that good he wanted to go out and meet the people so he did, he got out and about.

"We've had to improve the security around how we do it but our new MP Anna is in fact still very keen to meet the people and to help them."

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