the day started off as a usual day in leigh on sea. and| as a usual day in leigh on sea. d then, all of a sudden, all hell broke loose. l then, all of a sudden, all hell broke loose.— then, all of a sudden, all hell broke loose. ., , ., ., , broke loose. i was one of the first re orters broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene after- broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene after the l reporters on the scene after the incident. this is where it happened, police were called to reports of a stabbing here here in leigh on sea, just after 12 o'clock, and as you can see we have a police cordon in place, we have lots of place —— press here, residents who are deeply worried, shocked, concerned. ljusl worried, shocked, concerned. i 'ust finished celebrating i worried, shocked, concerned. ijust finished celebrating mass and as i went into — finished celebrating mass and as i went in

the day started off as a usual day in leigh on sea. and| as a usual day in leigh on sea. broke loose. i was one of the first re orters broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene _ broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene after- broke loose. i was one of the first reporters on the scene after the l reporters on the scene after the incident. this is where it happened, police were called to reports of a stabbing here here in leigh on sea, just after 12 o'clock, and as you can see we have a police cordon in place, we have lots of place —— press here, residents who are deeply worried, shocked, concerned. ijust worried, shocked, concerned. i “ust finished celebrating i worried, shocked, concerned. ijust finished celebrating mass and as i went into — finished celebrating mass and as i went into the sacristy someone said there _ went into the sacristy someone said there had _ went into the sacristy someone said there had been an attack on sir

daniel sandford, bbc news, leigh—on—sea. matt, tell us what happened in court?, ., court? martine, the “my heard how 27-year-old _ court? martine, the “my heard how 27-year-old au — court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi _ court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali _ court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali had - court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali had been | 27—year—old ali harbi ali had been looking for a victim to send a message and although it was sir david amess who tragically died on 15th october, he was by no means the first mp on that list. we heard there how michael gove was targeted and other mps on the list, including jess philip, and dominic raab. now, we had two counts, that the jury were deciding on, engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist act, this went on for a number of years and the murder of sir david amess, and thejury years and the murder of sir david amess, and the jury tookjust 18 minutes martine, to return a verdict of guilty on both, and thejudge, judge

the 69—year—old backbencher was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea in essexchard hillgrove, a close friend of sir david who spoke to him just minutes before the fatal attack. richard joins us now from southend—on—sea. thank you very much forjoining us today. very difficult for many people of course who knew sir david. what is your reaction to the verdict? ., ., ~ , ., verdict? the whole thing makes a farce of the _ verdict? the whole thing makes a farce of the legal _ verdict? the whole thing makes a farce of the legal system - verdict? the whole thing makes a farce of the legal system that - verdict? the whole thing makes a j farce of the legal system that this person would say they are not guilty, get to court and gloat he has made the family relive the whole experience all over again. the legal process, all the evidence coming out in the open, it must be very painful for the family hearing the audio file. it's like the whole thing happening all over again, it is terrible. this happening all over again, it is terrible. �* , happening all over again, it is t

on october 15, he set out from his north london home, taking the train to leigh—on—sea, and calmly walkinge church to murder the much loved local mp. the murder here at belfairs methodist church rocked british politics. sir david amess was a second mp to be killed injust over five years. his assassination and that ofjo cox risked undermining the fundamental principle of british politics, that mps should be easily available to those they represent. daniel sandford, bbc news, leigh—on—sea. the prosecution said 26—year—old ali harbi ali was an intelligent person and could have been a doctor, but instead of going down that route he instead of going down that route he instead funnelled his anger into terror, and as you heard in daniel's report it was on the 15th of october that he went to see sir david amess via a booked appointment at his surgery. he lied to get in, he said he wanted to talk about things like local amenities and church attendances, but when he went into the room to meet with sir david he sat down, talked for awhile and questioned sir david amess about his vote against bombings

ali harbi ali killed sir david at the mp�*s weekly constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea in the south—east researching how he might murder other mps, even staking out the home of a government minister. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani reports. 15 october last year, and in the leafy suburbs of leigh—on—sea, a man has just murdered an mp. they say he's got a knife and he's just stabbed someone. two officers with just batons and pepper spray are the first to the scene. they decide they can't wait for firearms or taser units to arrive. stay back, yeah? mate, drop the knife! on the floor now! on the bleep floor! get it down! taser, taser! we've got him. it's all right, it's all right. right, search him. right, mate, at the moment, you're under arrest for murder, all right? at southend police station, the killer declares his motive. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon in south london. he was clever enough to consider becoming a doctor until syria's civil war changed the teenager's ambitions. at first, he wanted to fight for the islamic state group. but in 2019, he followed a worldwid

ali harbi ali killed sir david at the mp's weekly constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea last october.f a government minister. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani reports. 15 october last year — and in the leafy suburbs of leigh—on—sea, a man hasjust murdered an mp. they say he's got a knife and he's just stabbed someone. two officers with just batons and pepper spray are the first to the scene. they decide they can't wait for firearms or taser units to arrive. stay back, yeah? mate, drop the knife! on the floor now! on the bleep floor! get it down! taser, taser! we've got him. it's all right, it's all right. right, search him. right, mate, at the moment, you're i under arrest for murder, all right? i at southend police station, the killer declares his motive. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon, in south london. he was clever enough to consider becoming a doctor until syria's civil war changed the teenager's ambitions. at first, he wanted to fight for the islamic state group. but in 2019, he followed a worldwide call from the group's propagandists to strike at home instead. h

the 15th of october last year, and in the leafy suburbs of leigh—on—sea, a man hasjust murdered an mpo be a hero. he wants the police to come and shoot him. who? what, the person with the knife? yes. they say he's got i a knife and he'sjust stabbed someone. two officers with just batons and pepper spray are the first to the scene. they decide they can't wait for firearms or taser units to arrive. stay back, yeah? mate, drop the knife! on the floor now! on the bleep floor! get it down! taser! we've got him. it's all right, it's all right. right, search him. right, mate, at the moment, you're under arrest for- murder, all right? at southend police station, the killer declares his motive. is it domestic or hate—related in any way? terror. pardon? terror. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon in south london. he was clever enough to consider becoming a doctor until syria's civil war changed the teenager's ambitions. at first, he wanted to fight for the islamic state group. but in 2019, he followed a worldwide call from the group's propagandists to strike at home instead. his target, any of the

the 15th of october last year, and in the leafy suburbs of leigh—on—sea, a man hasjust murdered an mpust batons and pepper spray are the first to the scene. they decide they can't wait for firearms or taser units to arrive. stay back, yeah? mate, drop the knife! on the floor now! on the bleep floor! get it down! taser! taser! we've got him. it's all right, it's all right. right, search him. right, mate, at the moment, you're under arrest for- murder, all right? at southend police station, the killer declares his motive. is it domestic or hate—related in any way? terror. pardon? terror. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon in south london. he was clever enough to consider becoming a doctor until syria's civil war changed the teenager's ambitions. at first, he wanted to fight for the islamic state group. but in 2019, he followed a worldwide call from the group's propagandists to strike at home instead. his target, any of the 52a mps who had voted to bomb is fighters. and, carrying a knife, he was tempted to kill anyone of them as they came and went from parliament. i'll be honest with you,

a crime that shocked a town, the murder of an mp in this church in an leigh—on—sea, a crime that unitedhe old bailey, where ali harbi ali, the self—confessed terrorist, would learn his fate. during the trial, he had used the witness box to spout islamic state propaganda. today, his defence barrister told the court he instructed her to say nothing at all. but mrjustice sweeney had plenty to say. when it came to sentence, there was no doubt in mrjustice sweeney's mind — ali harbi ali had carefully prepared a murder of a public servant for a terrorist cause, an attack, struck at the very heart of democracy. that meant he crossed the legal line for a whole—life order and he will never get out of jail. no sense of victory in the family's statement, read by the head of counterterrorism. "there is no elation in our family today following the sentencing. 0ur amazing husband and father has been taken from us in an appalling and violent manner. nothing will ever compensate for that." the grief of a family and a community triggered a national debate, how open should mps be in an age of terrorism?

correspondent dominic casciani was at the old bailey. 15th october last year, and in the leafy suburbs of leigh—on—seaay he's got a knife and he's just stabbed someone. two officers with just batons and pepper spray are the first to the scene. they decide they can't wait for firearms or taser units to arrive. stay back, yeah? mate, drop the knife! on the floor now! on the bleep floor! get it down! taser, taser! we've got him. it's all right, it's all right. right, search him. right, mate, at the moment, you're i under arrest for murder, all right? i at southend police station, the killer declares his motive. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon in south london. he was clever enough to consider becoming a doctor until syria's civil war changed the teenager's ambitions. at first, he wanted to fight for the islamic state group. but in 2019, he followed a worldwide call from the group's propagandists to strike at home instead. his target — any of the 524 mps who had voted to bomb is fighters. and, carrying a knife, he was tempted to kill any one of them as they came and went from parliament. people can self—r

a crime that shocked a town, the murder of an mp in this church in an leigh—on—sea, a crime that unitedfor sir david amess and his grieving family. today, that day of reckoning at the old bailey, where ali harbi ali, the self—confessed terrorist, would learn his fate. during the trial, he had used the witness box to spout islamic state propaganda. today, his defence barrister told the court he instructed her to say nothing at all. but mrjustice sweeney had plenty to say. when it came to sentence, there was no doubt in mr justice sweeney's mind — ali harbi ali had carefully prepared a murder of a public servant for a terrorist cause, an attack, struck at the very heart of democracy. that meant he crossed the legal line for a whole—life order and he will never get out of jail. no sense of victory in the family's statement, read by the head of counterterrorism. "there is no elation in our family today following the sentencing. our amazing husband and father has been taken from us in an appalling and violent manner. nothing will ever compensate for that." the grief of a family and a communi

reports from the old bailey a crime that shocked a town, the murder of an mp in this church in an leigh—on—seaime that united the political world and the country, all wanting justice for sir david amess and his grieving family. today, that day of reckoning at the old bailey, where ali harbi ali, the self—confessed terrorist, would learn his fate. during the trial, he had used the witness box to spout islamic state propaganda. today, his defence barrister told the court he instructed her to say nothing at all. but mrjustice sweeney had plenty to say. when it came to sentence, there was no doubt in mrjustice sweeney's mind — ali harbi ali had carefully prepared a murder of a public servant for a terrorist cause, an attack, struck at the very heart of democracy. that meant he crossed the legal line for a whole—life order and he will never get out of jail. no sense of victory in the family's statement, read by the head of counterterrorism. "there is no elation in our family today following the sentencing. 0ur amazing husband and father has been taken from us in an appalling and violent manner. not

the southend west mp was stabbed more than 20 times during a constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea, lastndford, has been speaking about the case to detective chief superintendent dominic murphy, from the metropolitan police. ali harbi ali was a committed, self—radicalised terrorist, who conducted a terrible attack against democracy here in the uk by killing sir david amess on this day. we know from his own admissions in interview and we know from his behaviour in trial that his focus was on targeting mps within the houses of parliament here in the uk. so he was a committed terrorist. one of the interesting thing about this case is what he said in his police interviews in the hours after the murder of sir david. what do you think those interviews and what he said to the detectives and the officer in those interviews what do you think that can tell us about the process of radicalisation, the kind of conveyor belt he wept on down those years. i think conveyer belt is a good description, the interviewing officer did a greatjob getting him to talk about his journey. we can learn that people c

sir david, who was member of parliament for southend west, was killed in leigh—on—sea in october last

he was holding constituency meetings in a church in leigh on sea and ali said that he was an nhs workermed police but, in fact, the two police officers are first on the scene were armed only with were armed only with batons and an incapacitant spray. they managed to overpower him and arrest him. now, we have heard from police during this trial that he was, as they described it, self—radicalised back in 2014. he had been a student at university studying a medical degree, but he dropped out in 2014 and started looking at a lot of islamic state material online and began to plan a trip to syria, but he decided that was the difficult and he was going, instead, he said, in his own words, to help muslims in this country. well, after the sentencing here today at the old bailey, the police made a statementjust outside. it is clear that the man who begins a life sentence today is a cold, calculated and dangerous individual. his attack was stopped by two essex police constables who apprehended this dangerous man whilst he was still armed with a knife he had used to kill sir david. their actions we

we found out quite a lot of detail about exactly what happened on the 15th of october in leigh on seaey managed to overpower him and arrest him. —— and an incapacity spray. they said at the trial over the past few weeks that ali harbi ali had been a good student, taking a medical degree but had dropped out, had become what police called self radicalised in 2014 and started reading a lot about islamic state online. at one point, they said he was planning to travel to syria to fight with islamic state but abandoned the plan when he decided the journey would be too difficult. he decided instead, in his own words, to fight for muslims in this country. it was notjust sir david he had been planning an attack against. in fact, we had heard he had researched more than a dozen mps online, including sir keir starmer and michael gove as well. in fact, he had even done reconnaissance on michael gove�*s house on more than half a dozen occasions and visited the houses of parliament several times, too. but we heard he had decided against an attack at the houses of parliament because he thought it wa

he repeatedly stabbed sir david during a constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea, in essex, last octobert? you are absolutely _ the guilty verdict? you are absolutely right. _ the guilty verdict? you are absolutely right. this - the guilty verdict? you are absolutely right. this was| the guilty verdict? you are i absolutely right. this was the constituency office of sir david for almost 25 years, he was the mp in basildon for 14 years before that. behind me, you have the name of his replacement, anna firth who won the by—election earlier this year. the people have reacted to the verdict and they are awaiting news of the sentencing. let's speak to councillor ian gilbert, the leader of southend council, labour leader, i should say. your reaction to the verdict? mr; i should say. your reaction to the verdict? ~ , ., , i should say. your reaction to the verdict? g ., , ., , . ., verdict? my thoughts are very much a sir david's family, _ verdict? my thoughts are very much a sir david's family, friends _ verdict? my thoughts are very much a sir david's family, friends and - sir david's family,