The unrepentant homegrown terrorist who murdered veteran MP Sir David Amess will be jailed for life when he is sentenced for his atrocity at the Old Bailey today. Ali Harbi Ali was convicted of murder and preparing terrorist acts on Monday by jurors who spent just 18 minutes in retirement.
Prosecutors described the case as “overwhelming”, and the 26-year-old Londoner himself did not dispute much of the evidence. The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, will decide whether or not to impose a whole-life sentence on Ali, meaning the university drop-out would never be released.
Far-right extremist Thomas Mair, who murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016, is among the handful of prisoners in England and Wales subject to a whole-life order, while ex-PC Wayne Couzens was also handed a whole-life term last year after raping and murdering Sarah Everard in south London. Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said Ali’s was an “exceptionally serious case” but refused to be drawn on whether he should receive the same sentence as Mair.
