British lawmaker David Amess, a member of Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party, has died after being stabbed multiple times at a constituency meeting east of London.
According to a witness at the scene, Amess, 69, a Member of Parliament who represented South-end West in Essex, was stabbed about lunchtime by a guy who went into a meeting with electors from his electoral area being held in a Methodist Church.
This is the second murder of a serving British legislator in five years, after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in her area in 2016.
Sajid Javid, the UK’s Health Secretary, called Amess “a great man, a great friend, and a great MP killed while fulfilling his democratic role.”
In the United Kingdom, lawmakers meet with constituents face to face during “surgeries,” and they seldom have a security team accompanying them.
“All elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of physical or verbal attacks,” Amess’ colleague, Conservative MP Eleanor Laing, said in a tweet on Friday following the stabbing. “What has happened to Sir David Amess in Essex today is unforgivable.”
Amess was first elected to Parliament in 1983, representing the Basildon seat. Since then, he has served continuously in the House of Commons, making him one of the chamber’s longest-serving members.
