UK police charges 25-year-old man with murder of lawmaker David Amess
October 21, 2021, 1:52 pm

UK police charges 25-year-old man with murder of lawmaker David Amess

UK-Police-Security/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported that British police on Thursday charged a 25-year-old man with the murder of lawmaker David Amess and the preparation of terrorist acts.

Ali Harbi Ali, a Briton of Somali heritage, stabbed 69-year-old veteran Conservative politician Amess to death Friday at a constituency surgery in a church in his Southend constituency in Essex, a county in southeastern England. He was arrested at the scene of the crime.

"We will submit to the court that this murder has a terrorist connection, namely that it had both religious and ideological motivations," said Nick Price, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of Crown Prosecution Service. "He has also been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts."

According to the Xinhua, Amess was the second member of the parliament (MP) in Britain to be murdered within five years. Yorkshire MP Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right extremist in 2016.

David Amess-Flick Drummond Official page/Facebook

It mentioned, the latest killing has reopened a debate about the safety of MPs as they conduct meetings with their constituents.

Many MPs insist on face-to-face meetings with constituents to discuss their problems and issues, known as a surgery, which is one of the hallmarks of political life in Britain.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel told lawmakers on Wednesday night that the threat to their safety following the killing of Amess was assessed by intelligence chiefs as "substantial", meaning an attack is "likely".

The threat against MPs was previously deemed to be "moderate", meaning an attack is "possible but not likely".

Patel said she would ensure that security and intelligence agencies as well as counter-terror police would see the change "reflected in their operational posture".

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.