Sir David Amess’ smug killer Ali Harbi Ali will die behind bars after stabbing MP more than 20 times

A FANATIC terrorist who stabbed MP Sir David Amess is set to die in prison after being jailed for the bloody murder today.

extremist Ali Harbi Ali, 26, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing the Southend West MP during a constituency operation in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex.

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Ali was found guilty Monday of the MP’s murder and the plotting of a terrorist attack by a jury that spent just 18 minutes considering the case at the Old Bailey.

College dropout Ali was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Mr Justice Sweeney and will never be released.

He did not propose mitigation to the court as Sir David’s family chose to keep their victim impact testimonies secret.

Judge Sweeney called Ali a “coward” for refusing to accept his guilt and subjecting Sir David’s family to the ordeal of a trial.

He said: “I express the court’s sincere admiration for the courageous and dignified manner in which the family has dealt with their loss and the ordeal of the trial inflicted on them by the accused’s cowardly refusal to accept his guilt .

“Sir David had done absolutely nothing to justify the attack on him. On the contrary, he had devoted 38 years of his life to public service.

“He was dealing with it when he was murdered. The loss is of national importance.

“It was a murder that struck at the heart of our democracy.”

Current enforcers include sex offender Wayne Couzens, who raped and murdered Sarah Everard, and right-wing extremist Thomas Mair, who killed Labor MP Jo Cox in 2016.

Ali was concurrently sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 30 years for terrorism offenses and smiled as he was led to the cells.

The Islamic State fanatic attacked the conservative MP in October last year after posing as someone considering moving to the area.

Callous Ali told the trial that he had no regrets about the killing as he believed Sir David deserved death for voting for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.

The Old Bailey heard Ali became known to authorities in 2014 and was referred to the government’s prevention strategy – but he continued his violent fantasies in secret.

The twisted Ali stabbed Sir David more than 20 times and told the father-of-five he was “sorry” before plunging the 12-inch carving knife into him.

The so-called “lone wolf” sent a manifesto to family and friends on WhatsApp to justify his actions at the time of the attack.

Disturbing footage of the sick killer calmly admitting his crimes has now been released by police.

He even told police officers how to spell his victim’s name before describing the backstory of the brutal October 15 murder in broad daylight.

We didn’t hesitate that it was an act of terrorism, just like the tragic murder of Jo Cox.

Max Hill QCDirector of the Public Prosecutor’s Office

Chilling CCTV shows Ali making his way from North London to Essex before committing the horrifying murder.

Ali admitted the incident was “terrorism” and boasted that he “killed an MP” to horrified detectives.

The court heard he traveled 50 miles by train to carry out the cold-blood murder after learning he could see politicians in person at surgeries.

He emailed the MP’s assistant, falsely claiming he had moved to the area to get an appointment with Sir David.

Julie Cushion, Sir David Amess’ assistant who was present at the time of the murder, said she will never forget his screams.

She told the court: “I had to drive past the Church of Sir David’s Death almost every day as it is close to where I live. It’s a constant reminder of what happened.

‘CONSTANT REMINDER’

“I feel a lot of guilt booking the venue. I can’t get that scream out of my head when Sir David was attacked.

“I remember that horrible feeling of despair as we waited for help and felt helpless and hopeless.

“The expression on the perpetrator’s face stuck in my mind the whole time. An expression of smugness, self-satisfaction.

“I am now working for a new MP, but I am also afraid that she could be attacked.”

Ali brandished the bloodied knife and threatened to kill the MP’s two female assistants and a couple who showed up for their appointment.

Sir David’s assistant Julie Cushion told jurors he appeared “complacent” after the brutal murder.

He told officers Sir David immediately suspected a “stab” as he had been tricked into speaking about a fake drugs “pie” on the TV series Brass Eye.

He continued, “I felt like one minute I sat down at the table and talked to him and the next he was kind of dead.

“But yeah, it’s probably one of the weirdest days of my life right now, you know?”

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Terrorist Ali admitted he routinely haunted the Houses of Parliament to see if he could attack unsuspecting MPs as they left.

But he was startled by the dozens of armed police officers outside, declaring that they were “armed to the teeth”.

Cowardly Ali told police he left home “quite often” with intentions to carry out a terrorist attack – but always “bottled it up”.

The knife-wielding Ali was later arrested by two police officers who were armed only with batons and spray at the time of the murder.

Essex Police Superintendent Simon Anslow praised the “amazing bravery” of his officers during the incident.

The court was told how London-born Ali had self-radicalized in 2014, dropping out of university and abandoning his ambitions for a career in medicine.

Coming from an influential Somali family, he said he had a childhood “full of love and care”.

The assassin admitted he had considered traveling to Syria to fight but decided to attack in the UK in 2019.

We say he was the true example of a committed terrorist and just the sort of person we should focus our efforts on.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy

Ali bought a £20 knife from Argos six years ago, which he carried in his pocket throughout the summer of 2021 as he “scouted” possible targets.

Ali conducted online research on MPs including Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

He has staked out Leveling Up secretary Mr Gove’s house in west London six times and made detailed notes of how to get to him.

Scenarios included mingling with media, meeting him while he’s jogging, ringing his doorbell, and “luring him out” through a scene.

Ali rejected the plan after Mr Gove split from his wife and is believed to have moved out of the family home.

He brazenly told police officers, “It was so convenient to go to this address, but I just don’t know why I didn’t.”

Ali was also seen lurking outside the constituency office of Finchley MP Mike Freer, the jury was told.

Mr Freer added that after being informed by anti-terrorist police that he had been attacked, he added that he had taken additional security measures for himself and his staff.

He said: “Since hearing about the attack and the subsequent visit by the police, I have become much more aware of the people around me.

“I was very aware that I was potentially at risk from the person responsible for the attack.”

“COMMITTED TERRORIST”

Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy said: “He spent some time at Prevent and then came out of Prevent and by his own admission continued his activity in secret for many years, formulating his plan and conducting reconnaissance and focusing his efforts on many MPs.

“We say he was the true example of a committed terrorist and just the sort of person we should focus our efforts on.”

The jury was told Ali had no mental health problems and accepted much of the evidence against him, although he denied both charges.

Sir David’s family sat in the well of court just meters from Ali in the dock, who refused to stand “on religious grounds” as he was sentenced.

The MP was killed five years after Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was murdered in her constituency.

Ali joins far-right extremist Thomas Mair among the handful of prisoners in England and Wales under a life sentence.

Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “We had no hesitation that this was an act of terrorism, just as in the case of the tragic murder of Jo Cox.”

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, added that MPs and political staff remained “traumatized” by the atrocity and continued to fight for fear of their safety.

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