Sir David Amess’ daughter says Prevent program has failed him ‘catastrophically’ – The Irish News

The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess said he had been “catastrophically” let down by the government’s Prevent program as she called for a full investigation into his death.

The veteran MP, 69, was stabbed to death by Ali Harbi Ali, then aged 26, at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex in October 2021.

Katie Amess, 39, said she was told Ali had been reported to Prevent in 2014, but after one meeting his case was not followed up by the counter-radicalisation program “due to an administrative error”.

She told the Sunday Times: “He was reported. People tried to help us, and why was he allowed to just go ahead and do whatever he wanted for seven years?

“What happened to my father should not have been an administrative error.”

Sir David, a father of five, had been undergoing surgery in his Southend West constituency when he was attacked by Ali, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 for the murder.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Ms Amess, an actress living in West Hollywood in the United States, said the pain of his death was “unbearable” and “unspeakable”.

She added: “It is quite clear that Prevent is not fit for purpose; it has continually failed people.

“It failed me. It has failed my family catastrophically, it has failed the public and it has failed other MPs as well.”

The Sunday Times reported that a coroner’s report published in July said Ali’s six-month Prevent case review had been “missed” and that a 12-month review found “nothing of concern”.

Ms Amess said there was never a “full public inquiry into the events leading to his death” after a coroner concluded the criminal trial had been sufficient.

She added: “The people who could have actually helped me are nowhere to be seen, it feels like we have been completely ignored.

“My dad would be so shocked if he knew what we were going through – he would be ashamed.”

Earlier this year it was reported that Ms Amess had taken legal action against Essex Police and the Home Office by filing a personal injury claim in the High Court, as lawyers said she wanted “proper accountability and education” of her father’s murder.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sir David Amess.

“The attack on Sir David Amess was a terrible tragedy, the safety of Members of Parliament is paramount and significant work has been done in response to his tragic murder.

“Prevent is an essential tool to prevent people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism, and addresses all ideological causes of terrorism.”

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “Sir David Amess was a deeply committed public servant who worked tirelessly for his community.

“In the immediate aftermath of his murder, two of our heroic unarmed officers found themselves in harm’s way as they desperately tried to save him and, of course, arrest his killer.”

The force added: “We are aware that a protective claim form has in fact been filed with the court, but as these papers have not been served on our force we cannot comment further on them.

“We remain committed to supporting our elected members across the country in the execution of their public duties and to this end we regularly review and advise the security arrangements for our MPs.”

Essex Police said that “as with all forces across the country” it is not providing officers for precinct operations.

Essex Coroner’s Service was contacted for comment.