Polisen misstänker terror – islamistiskt motiv utreds

Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess ( AY-miss; 26 March 1952 – 15 October 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from May 1997 until his killing in 2021. He previously served as MP for Basildon from 1983 to April 1997. He was a member of the Conservative Party. He was born and grew up in Essex. He studied economics and government at Bournemouth University and then had short careers as a teacher, underwriter and recruitment consultant. He was elected as a Conservative councillor for Redbridge in 1982 and then MP for Basildon in 1983. This was seen as a bellwether seat, exemplifying the enthusiasm of the "Essex man" for the government of Margaret Thatcher. He held the seat in the election of 1992 but boundary changes then made it untenable and so he became MP for Southend West in 1997, until his death, 24 years later. In government, his highest position was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Portillo for ten years. He was more prominent as a backbencher, serving on a variety of Select Committees and sponsoring several pieces of legislation including the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act (1988) and Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act (2000). The causes for which he campaigned included the honouring of Raoul Wallenberg, support for sufferers of endometriosis, and animal welfare. He supported the ban on fox hunting. His political views were socially conservative and included support for the return of capital punishment and Brexit. He was a Catholic and opposed abortion. He married in 1983 and the couple had five children including the actress Katie Amess. On 15 October 2021, Amess was stabbed multiple times while holding a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea. He died at the scene.