Threatening calls to son ‘not linked’ to Sir David Amess murder, police say

A series of threatening phone calls to Sir David Amess’ adult son the night before the MP’s murder were “in no way connected” with the attack, police said.

The veteran politician’s daughter Katie Amess has called for a full investigation into his death and said there are still unanswered questions.

She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The night before it happened to my father, my brother got a phone call saying my father was going to be killed.

“He immediately reported the incident to the police.

“You would obviously assume that given the death threat against an MP, they would show up the next day to protect him.

‘The man who killed my father admitted that he had gone to another operating room or to other people’s homes to kill them, and when he saw the police he clearly did not go through with the attack.

“If the police had been there, we might not be here today without my father.”

Essex Police said in a statement that police were contacted at around 9pm on October 14, 2021 “following reports of threats made to a man in his 30s”.

“We immediately launched an investigation and a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s, both from Southend, were arrested,” Essex Police said.

“This incident and the murder of Sir David were in no way linked, and the people arrested and the person to whom the threat was made directly were known to each other and no one was associated with Ali Harbi Ali.”

Sir David, 69, was stabbed to death by Ali Harbi Ali at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on October 15, 2021.

The father-of-five had been undergoing surgery in his Southend West constituency when he was attacked by Ali, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder in 2022.

Katie Amess told Today that “the police then say they arrested people who made the call and it was not connected, but that’s just not relevant to us because they should have kept quiet.”

“One threat should be enough to start protecting someone,” she said.

“If they were there my father probably wouldn’t be dead and I think we need to do a full investigation into why they didn’t show up.”

Senior Essex coroner Lincoln Brookes addressed the issue of threats against Sir David’s son in his 18-page decision not to resume the inquest into Sir David’s death.

He said Sir David’s adult son, also called David Amess, called Essex Police and “said he had received a series of threatening phone calls”.

The coroner said documents provided to him by police “appear to show that threats made by Mr Amess the evening before Sir David’s death were taken seriously and acted upon by police”.

He said the investigation into the calls continued after the murder and that “it was determined that this was a completely unrelated event.”

Mr Brookes said the calls “posed no threat to Sir David’s life” and that the circumstances described did not demonstrate “any arguable breach of a systemic or operational duty in relation to a murder in unrelated circumstances by an unrelated -related person”.

He wrote: “The evidence I have received does not enable me to say that there was demonstrably a point at which the authorities should have assessed a real and immediate risk that the perpetrator would attack Sir David, or any Member of Parliament , and potentially effective measures to prevent this.”

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “Sir David Amess was a deeply committed public servant who worked tirelessly for his community.

“In the immediate aftermath of his murder, two of our heroic unarmed officers found themselves in harm’s way as they desperately tried to save him and, of course, arrest his killer.

“Several other of our officers attended shortly afterwards and worked with paramedic colleagues to help save Sir David, but unfortunately they were unable to do so.

“In the days and months following that day, our team worked around the clock to reassure the community and support colleagues in the Metropolitan Police Counter Terror Command to do everything we could to help them secure justice.

“We are aware that a protective claim form has in fact been filed with the court, but as these papers have not been served on our forces we cannot comment further on them.”

The spokesperson added: “We remain committed to supporting our elected members across the country in the execution of their public duties and to this end we regularly review and advise the security arrangements for our MPs.

“Sir David and the Amess family remain in our thoughts.

“We were contacted on Thursday October 14 at around 9pm following reports of threats against a man in his thirties.

“We immediately launched an investigation and a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s, both from Southend, were arrested.

“This incident and the murder of Sir David were in no way linked, and the people arrested and the person against whom the threat was directly made were known to each other and no one was associated with Ali Harbi Ali.

“We take the safety and security of all our residents, including elected members, very seriously.

“Like all forces across the country, Essex Police does not provide officers for MP operations.”

They said: “If any information or intelligence comes to light that gives us cause for concern about the safety of an MP, we would of course advise and guide them to keep them safe and provide police presence where necessary.

“In the wake of Sir David’s murder, the National Police Chiefs’ Council has asked all chief constables to contact MPs to discuss their safety.

“Our chief constable BJ Harrington did this at the time and regularly consults with our MPs, as do our local police commanders.

“More broadly, Essex Police is part of a national police protection program designed to provide MPs with access to additional security in their homes and constituency offices. The program was established in 2016 in the wake of the murder of Labor MP Jo Cox.”