Horrifying bodycam footage shows the moment two unarmed police officers tackled the terrorist who murdered MP Sir David Amess to the ground. One of the officers can be heard shouting "drop that f***ing knife" before the pair disarm Ali Harbi Ali and put him under arrest.
The 26-year-old Islamic State fanatic has now been handed a whole-life jail term after he was convicted of murder and preparing terrorist acts by a jury who deliberated his case for just 18 minutes. Ali carried out his attack at the backbench Conservative MP’s constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on October 15 last year.
He told his trial at the Old Bailey that he had no regrets about the murder, and said Sir David, 69, deserved to die because he had voted in Parliament for air strikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015. The court heard how he had told the politician that he was “sorry” before stabbing him to death with a 12 inch carving knife. Sir David received more than 20 stab injuries and died at the scene.
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Ali's arrest moments later was captured on body-worn police cameras. Essex Police officers Scott James and Ryan Curtis decided to enter Belfairs Methodist Church to confront the killer, despite being armed with only batons and incapacitant spray, while back-up officers with Tasers were at least two minutes away.
The officers were in the area trying to find an unrelated wanted suspect, but were diverted to the scene and arrived to be told that the MP had been “stabbed several times”. When they entered the church, they ordered Ali to drop his weapon, but the killer, who is believed to have been on a 14-minute phone call with his sister, charged at the two plain-clothed patrol officers.
Ali had intended to die a martyr but dropped his bloodied weapon when he realised the pair were virtually unarmed. He was tackled to the floor and arrested.
In a statement released through Essex Police, Pc Curtis said: “Once we got inside, we shouted at the suspect to drop the weapon and he refused and then he started walking towards us with the knife. We didn’t know what he was going to do, we knew he might attempt to attack us, but we had to stop him getting past us as there were other members of the public outside. We carried on shouting at him and trying to persuade him to stop and eventually he dropped the weapon allowing us to arrest him.”
The terrifying footage was played in full to jurors during Ali’s trial, but edited by police before being released to the public, to remove graphic content that could be used by extremists to glorify terrorism.
The officers have been awarded the Merit Star – Essex Police’s highest accolade - for their bravery. Pc Curtis said: “We are not heroes – we did what any other officer would have that day. We only wish we could have done more and we continue to think of both Sir David and his family.”
Sir David’s junior aide who was with him at the surgery, Rebecca Hayton, described seeing Ali stand up during his meeting with the MP, which he had arranged with the MP's office via email. She said Ali pulled a knife from his clothing, and stabbed the married father-of-five, causing him to scream in panic.
Witness Yvonne Eaves said Ali had a look of “self-satisfaction” as though he had “achieved something” in the moments after the attack. Her partner, Darren King, who had his own appointment with the Southend West MP, tried to reason with Ali and go to Sir David’s aid, telling police: “My one eye was looking at David to see if I could see movement, the other eye was on the knife – it was a big knife.”
During the trial, jurors also watched videoed police interviews in which Ali calmly described in detail how he had carried out the attack. In the interview, he told police: “Sat down with him. He was quick, but I think he knew straight away something was up. Well, it looked awkward ‘cos I was holding my phone, ready to send off, like, a bunch of messages to let my family know what was up." He added that he thought Sir David suspected a Brass Eye-style “sting”.
He went on to say: “I felt like one minute I was sat down at the table talking to him and the next he was, sort of, dead. But, yeah, it’s probably one of the strangest days… of my life now, y’know?” Ali confirmed it was a “terror attack”, saying: “I mean, I guess yeah, I killed an MP. I done it, so yeah.”
Asked if he considered himself a member of Islamic State, he told police: “I say I have allegiance to them. But it sounds weird to call myself a member. I don’t think I’m deserving of that.”
The court heard that Ali, who came from an influential Somali family and said he had a childhood “full of love and care”, had become self-radicalised in 2014, and later dropped out of university and abandoned his ambitions for a career in medicine. He considered travelling to Syria to fight but by 2019 he had opted for an attack in Britain.
Ali bought a £20 knife from Argos six years ago which he carried in his bag throughout summer 2021 as he “scoped out” possible targets, jurors heard. He carried out reconnaissance on the Houses of Parliament but found police there were “armed to the teeth”.
Ali also carried out online research on a number of MPs, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. The court heard that he staked out the west London home of Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove six times and wrote detailed notes on how he might get to him, such as by bumping into him jogging or ringing his doorbell.
Sentencing Ali on Wednesday, judge Mr Justice Sweeney said Sir David's murder was carried out “in revenge” for losses by so-called Islamic State in Syria. He said he had “no doubt” that the correct starting point for the sentence was a “whole-life order”.
Aggravating features included a “significant degree” of planning, the use of a knife taken to the scene, and the fact Sir David was attacked while carrying out a public duty. The fact the defendant prevented members of the public from trying to help Sir David also counted against the terrorist. “This was a murder that struck at the heart of our democracy,” the judge told the court.
Ali was handed a whole-life term for murder, and life with a minimum of 30 years to run concurrently for preparing terrorist attacks.
Speaking outside court after the Ali Harbi Ali sentencing, Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes said on behalf of the police: “It’s clear that the man who begins a life sentence today is a cold, calculated and dangerous individual. Sir David was callously and senselessly murdered, working in his constituency as he had done over a distinguished political career of nearly 40 years.”
Sir David’s family, in a statement issued through the Met Police, said his murder was “beyond evil” and they felt “no elation” at Ali’s imprisonment.
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