Sir David Amess: UK MP murder suspect held under Terrorism Act

 Ali was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and held in Essex, but has since been transferred to London where he was further detained under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act.

On Saturday, detectives were granted a warrant by magistrates to allow them to keep Mr Ali in custody until Friday 22 October.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said a knife used in the attack had been recovered at the scene.

Officers spent Saturday searching three addresses in the London area. A post-mortem examination also took place on Saturday, the police added.

Sir David was married with four daughters and a son. A candlelit vigil was held in Leigh-on Sea on Saturday night to mark the 69-year-old’s life.

Speaking to the gathering, Southend councillor Alan Dear said Sir David was “a gentleman and a gentle man”.

Sir David is the second MP to be killed in recent years, following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016.

The latest attack has raised concerns for the safety of MPs, many of whom hold constituency surgeries which anyone can attend.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said security measures were being put in place to protect MPs – but insisted they would carry on serving the country unimpeded.

“We will carry on, we live in an open society, a democracy,” she said during a visit to the scene of the attack, alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

“We cannot be cowed by any individual or any motivation… to stop us from functioning, to serve our elected democracy.”

Ms Patel maintained a balance could be found to allow face-to-face meetings with constituents to continue.

However, Conservative MP Tobias Elwood – who came to the aid of a stabbed police officer during the 2017 terror attack in Westminster – suggested MPs speak to constituents on the phone or over Zoom for the time being.

Labour MP Diane Abbott said she would prefer to meet constituents behind a screen to prevent possible stab attacks.

And Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Mrs Cox, said her partner had asked her to stand down as MP for Batley and Spen after Sir David’s death.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was working “at pace” with the home secretary and police to find ways to improve safety for MPs.

Tributes to Sir David have been pouring in from politicians and constituents, with the home secretary calling Sir David a “man of the people” who was killed doing “a job he loved”.

Ms Patel said he “was absolutely there for everyone, he was a much loved parliamentarian, to me he was a dear and loyal friend, but also he was a devoted husband and father”.

The prime minister described him as “one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics”.