Ali Harbi Ali tells court he did not feel shame after killing David Amess

Ali Harbi Ali told the Old Bailey he considered himself to be a moderate Muslim. Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA

The man accused of murdering Conservative MP Sir David Amess has told a court he did not have “any shame” as he admitted to killing the Conservative MP because he had voted seven years ago in support of a military campaign in Syria.

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, stabbed Amess more than 20 times with a foot-long carving knife at Belfairs Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, shortly after midday on 15 October 2021, the Old Bailey heard.