LONDON, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The attacker who fatally stabbed British lawmaker David Amess was referred to an official counter-terrorist scheme for those thought to be at risk of radicalisation, according to media reports.
Police said late Saturday that detectives had until the coming Friday to question the suspect after he was detained under the Terrorism Act, which allowed them to extend his detention.
Veteran Conservative MP Amess, 69, was talking with voters at a church in the small town of Leigh-on-Sea east of London when he was stabbed to death on Friday.
Police have said they are investigating “a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism”. The investigation is being led by Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command.
The suspect Ali Harbi Ali, a British citizen of Somali heritage, had been referred to Prevent, the UK’s scheme for those thought at risk of radicalisation a few years ago.
Ali is believed not to have spent long on the programme, which is voluntary in nature, and was never formally a “subject of interest” to MI5, the domestic security agency.
Police and security services believe the attacker acted alone and was “self-radicalised”, The Sunday Times reported, while he may have been inspired by Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists in Somalia.
Ali’s father Harbi Ali Kullane, a former adviser to the prime minister of Somalia, confirmed to The Sunday Times that his son was in custody, adding: “I’m feeling very traumatised.”
Police said they have been carrying out searches at three addresses in the London area in a “fast-paced investigation”.
The Sun tabloid reported that the attacker stabbed Amess multiple times in the presence of two women staff, before sitting down and waiting for police to arrive.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported that he had booked an appointment a week ahead.
Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday ordered police across the country to review security arrangements for all 650 MPs and The Sunday Times reported that every MP could be granted security protection when meeting the public.
MPs and their staff have been attacked before, although it is rare.
But their safety was thrown into sharp focus by Brexit, which stoked deep political divisions and has led to often angry, partisan rhetoric.
In June 2016, Labour MP Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist. Cox’s killer repeatedly shouted “Britain first” before shooting and stabbing the 41-year-old MP outside her constituency meeting near Leeds, northern England.
A specialist police unit set up to investigate threats against MPs in the aftermath of Cox’s murder said 678 crimes against lawmakers were reported between 2016 and 2020. — NNN-AGENCIES
