‘Terrorist’ searched how to ‘reduce the agonies of death’ days before he assassinated David Amess

Papa Linc

3 years ago

An alleged terrorist told an aide of Sir David Amess he would not ‘take too long’ as he fixed an appointment to murder the MP, a court has heard.

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, exchanged a series of emails with Sir David’s office, even feigning interest in churches and healthcare to get a meeting with the Southend MP, jurors were told.

On October 15 last year, Ali travelled to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex to attend his noon slot at Belfairs Methodist Church, the Old Bailey heard.

He stabbed Sir David 21 times and waved a bloody knife around before he was apprehended by unarmed police officers, jurors were told.

The court also heard today:

Ali’s internet records show him reading an article by Sir David about fighting against Islamic extremism;
He also accessed a webpage that said: What should a person do if they think their death is approaching?

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, appeared in the dock at courtroom two at the Old Bailey yesterday wearing a collar-free black robe and black-rimmed glasses

Sir David Amess was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on 15 October last year

Ali’s phone then made a notification sound and he said ‘sorry’ before pulling out a knife and stabbing the father of five to death, the court heard

‘Killer’s years of sinister research on MPs’ and ‘planning trip’ to Parliament

Ali carried out ‘research’ on MPs including Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Tory MP Richard Fuller as he scoped for a target, prosecutor Tom Little told the Old Bailey yesterday.

The prosecution claim the alleged killer also carried a series of reconnaissance visits to homes and offices belonging to prominent politicians, including –

SIX VISITS TO MICHAEL GOVE’S HOUSE

Mr Little said evidence suggested Ali made six separate trips ‘scoping out’ Mr Gove’s house in West London in 2021.

Evidence recovered from Ali’s phone also suggested he had been on Mr Gove’s road, the court heard.

He planned his attack on Mr Gove, the Communities Secretary, in a series of chilling phone notes. One read how the ‘best outcome’ would be ‘bumping into him while jogging’ in the morning, or he could pose as a journalist.

Plans for a night attack included ‘luring’ him out by ringing the doorbell or ‘causing a scene outside’. Another note read: ‘Door is wooden and swings into house, could be kicked in.’

VISIT TO TORY MP’S CONSTITUENCY SURGERY A MONTH BEFORE SIR DAVID’S DEATH

Ali carried out research on Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer, including turning up at one of his constituent surgeries on September 17 2021, a month before Sir David was stabbed, it is claimed.

Mr Little said: ‘He (Ali) was seen that day by Rachel Shawcross, Mike Freer’s election agent.

‘She saw a person matching the defendant’s description staring in to the surgery.’

Mr Little said: ‘Not only did the defendant go to locations, a home address and a surgery address, but he also conducted reconnaissance at the Houses of Parliament.’

‘TERRORIST PLANNING’ TRIP TO PARLIAMENT

The prosecution said mobile phone data placed Ali in the proximity of the Houses of Parliament seven times between July and September 2021.

He said: ‘Being blunt about it, he’s not a tourist … looking at Big Ben and taking some photographs.

‘This is terrorist planning.’

On Tuesday, prosecutor Tom Little QC took the jury through a timeline of events leading up to the 69-year-old veteran Tory MP’s death.

He said police pieced together Ali’s activities from hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and data from his laptop and mobile phone.

The court heard Ali had looked up a web page about Sir David on July 22 last year. Three hours later, Ali was near the Houses of Parliament, according to cell site analysis.

His web history also showed searches last September relating to Government minister Michael Gove, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and London MP Mike Freer, jurors heard.

On September 27, Ali emailed Sir David’s office to ask about a meeting. He wrote: ‘I will be moving to the area from a Labour-held constituency and wanted to get to know my future MP.

‘Since I work in healthcare, I would like to know his plans, if any, for the hospital and workers.

‘Also, as someone interested in Christianity, I have seen many churches in my area losing attendances and struggle with upkeep, eventually becoming at risk of being demolished or repurposed.

‘I wanted to know if the situation in Southend is similar and, if so, what are the solutions. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

‘If all appointments are taken, let me know if there’s a cancellation. I’ll be in the local area and will be able to drop by.’

Sir David’s aide Rebecca Hayton responded by requesting Ali’s address and full name to check he was a constituent.

Ali gave a postcode in Southend and told her: ‘I’ll be in the local area on Friday so it would be nice to see him regardless, although I know he’s a very busy man so I can appreciate (it) if that’s not possible.’

Ms Hayton told Ali all the appointments had been taken but she would be happy to book him in for October 15. Ali replied to say his ‘schedule is rather hectic for the next couple of weeks so I’m not sure I’ll be available’.

But, on September 30, he said he was ‘able to clear up my schedule’ and asked to meet at noon, telling Ms Hayton: ‘I don’t really know how long the appointments are but I don’t think I’ll take too long. Thanks for all the help so far.’

Around the time of the attack on Sir David, Ali sent a message to family and friends which appeared to have been drafted days before, the court was told. In it, he said the attack was ‘for the sake of Allah’, jurors heard.

He allegedly wrote: ‘I apologise to my family for deceiving them for so long. I would have preferred Hijrah so as not to harm you but I could not. The obligations upon me to take revenge for the blood of Muslims were too great.

‘The shame of abiding in the very lands that carry out these horrendous acts against my brothers and sisters was too much.’

Ali carried out reconnaissance at Michael Gove’s house, the Old Bailey heard

The court heard the knife Ali (pictured yesterday in court) took with him to Leigh-on-Sea had a 12-inch blade which he bought from Argos five years earlier, potentially for terrorist purposes

The unfolding horror: ‘Terrorist’ said ‘sorry’ before stabbing MP 21 times as constituent made harrowing 999 call to police

Ali arrived at the constituency surgery meeting in October last year looking ‘relaxed and chatty’ after getting the train from London, prosecutor Mark Little said.

The court heard Ali kept using his telephone, but assured Sir David he was not recording their conversation. Ali then told Sir David he moved to the area recently, and ‘irritated’ him by asking the long-term MP ‘what Sir David could do for the town’.

Mr Little said: ‘The surgery was meant for people with particular issues, not general conversation. However, the defendant then said he wanted to talk about foreign affairs.

‘He said that he knew Sir David had initially supported the Iraq war but had changed his mind. Sir David looked confused at this.’

Mr Little said Ali’s phone then made a notification sound, and the attack began.

Mr Little said: ‘The defendant said ‘sorry’ and then pulled out a knife and stabbed Sir David Amess. Sir David screamed. The defendant stabbed him again.

‘Indeed, he stabbed him multiple times in a vicious and frenzied attack.’

Two members of Sir David’s staff, Rebecca Hayton and Julie Cushion, then called for help.

The court heard Yvonne Eaves and Darren King, who arrived on the scene for their own meeting with Sir David, then saw Ali waving a bloodied knife and saying: ‘I killed him.’

Mr Little said: ‘When Yvonne Eaves and Darren King offered to go and see Sir David, the defendant said this: ‘No don’t come nearer. I’ll go and finish him off if he’s not dead’.’

Ali is then alleged to have said: ‘I want him dead.

‘I want every Parliament Minister (sic) who signed up for the bombing of Syria, who agreed to the Iraqi war, to die.’

Ali stared straight ahead in court as a section of Ms Eaves’ 999 call was played in court. Mr Little said Ali was alleged to have had a conversation with a woman on speakerphone, who was ‘screaming’ at him: ‘Why have you done it?’

Ali is alleged to have mentioned Syria in his reply.

The court heard Ali assumed that firearms officers would arrive on the scene, but was instead confronted only by two plain clothes officers from Essex Police.

Mr Little said: ‘The defendant hoped that he would be shot, killed, a martyr for the terrorist cause. However, this was not outside the Houses of Parliament, Central London, but Leigh-on-Sea and the first police attenders were not firearms officers but Pc Scott James and Pc Ryan Curtis.

‘They were on duty in plain clothes when they heard on their radio that a man had been stabbed numerous times.’

Mr Little said the pair, armed only with a baton and incapacitant spray, ‘bravely decided’ to enter the building after hearing of Sir David’s injuries.

A section of bodyworn camera footage showed police officers Ryan Curtis and Scott James in a short, tense confrontation with the armed Ali within the church building.

One of the officers could be heard yelling: ‘Drop that knife.’ Ali, seen in the middle of room, was then told: ‘It’s only going to go one way, please drop that knife.’

The police officers then managed to pin Ali to the floor and arrested him. Ali showed no emotion in the dock as the brief clip was played.

The court also heard today Ali’s internet records showed him reading an article written by Sir David about fighting against Islamic extremism.

The Huffington Post headline is: ‘In the Fight Against Islamic Extremism, Moderate Muslims Are Our Best Allies’. Jurors heard how Ali described himself to police after the attack as ‘a moderate Muslim’.

The article was published on November 19, 2015, and written by Sir David, described under his byline as: ‘Conservative MP for Southend West and Co-Chairman of British Committee for Iran Freedom’.

Mr Little said the article was accessed at 11.22pm on October 11, 2021, just four days before Ali attacked the tragic MP.

The prosecutor read out some of Sir David’s words: ‘I remember almost a year ago, the enormous crowds that came together all across France, to rally against extremism.

‘This rally showed everything that was great about French society.

‘The rally did not blame all Muslims for the deeds of a few radicals misleadingly carried out in the name of Islam and it was not the familiar angry call for bloodshed and revenge that all too often follows these tragic events.

‘However, these latest attack shows that when it comes to Islamic extremism, it’s not just enough to speak softly and rationally, we must put the stick about.

‘Let us be clear about what should not occur in the reaction to this latest round of bloodshed perpetrated my Islamic extremists.

‘France’s Muslim population, Europe’s Muslim populations and especially refugees should not receive blame for the actions of a few. Yes, eight attackers are guilty.

‘Yes, this attack like so many others was carried out under the name of Islam and that this is happening far too often.

‘Yet we should not forget that the vast majority of Muslims would never support such violence, that during the last attack Muslims died and risked their lives fighting against these extremists and that refugees are escaping these extremists.

‘France and indeed the western world need to attack Islamic extremism at its source. This means relentlessly going after Daesh.

‘However, it further means fighting against the theocratic regime in Tehran and its allies whose policies give life to those groups.’

This was the final internet destination in a series of searches made by Ali relating to Sir David that day, the court was told. Earlier that night, at 8.36pm, Ali looked on Sir David’s Wikipedia at his ‘Political Views’.

Mr Little read out some of that section’s detail: ‘He voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was afterwards critical of the Labour government’s failure to find the weapons of mass destruction with which they justified the action at the time.

‘On foreign policy, he was also a leading member of Conservative Friends of Israel. Amess was one of 30 Conservatives who voted against military action in Syria in August 2013.

‘He was a critic of the government of Iran, and advocated for the National Council of Resistance of Iran.’ At 11.21pm on the same day, the jury heard Ali searched ‘david amess israel’ and ‘david amess muslim’.

Just a few seconds later, the records show him accessing Sir David’s ‘They Work For You’ website, specifically a page about Sir David chairing a Westminster debate about the ‘Jewish Community Contribution to the UK’.

In the next second, Ali is said to look up Sir David’s website, specifically a page about the MP speaking at ‘Holocaust Memorial Day Debate’.

Within the same minute, Ali went back to Sir David’s Wikipedia page, the prosecutor said.

Meanwhile, three days before the killing, he accessed a webpage that posed the question: ‘What should a person do if they think their death is approaching?’, a court heard.

Mr Little said Ali went on on ‘Islam Question & Answer’ website on 12 October 2021 titled ‘What should a person do if he feels that his death is approaching?’

The web page continued: ‘Are there any signs before a person dies, whether he is a believer or a disbeliever?

‘Are there any specific times for those signs? If it becomes apparent to him that his death is approaching, what should he do?

‘When should we pay attention to these signs if there is such a thing? Is there any way to reduce the agonies of death? What are the best righteous deeds that one may be advised to adhere to?’

Following the killing Ali was told to drop his knife by two unarmed PCs and replied: ‘No, because I want to be shot. I’m going to die. I want to die, I want to be a hero.’

Mr Little said: ‘The defendant plainly assumed and appears to have hoped that he would become a martyr when shot by firearm officers, a martyr to his twisted cause.’

Ali, of Kentish Town, denies murder and engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The second charge alleges he engaged in reconnaissance of locations of targets to attack including addresses associated with members of Parliament and the Houses of Parliament; engaged in internet searches relating to the targets of attack. he trial continues.

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