Sir David Amess MP: Conservative MP dies after stabbing at surgery in his constituency

Sir David Amess has died following the stabbing

A statement from Essex Police said: "A man has been arrested on suspicion murder after a man was stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea. We were called to Eastwood Road North shortly after 12.05pm.

"Sadly, a man later died. A man was arrested at the scene. We are not looking for anyone else."

Councillor John Lamb, who is at the scene, said the 69-year-old MP had not been taken to hospital but medics were “working on him all that time” within the church building.

He said: “He’s a family man, he’s got four daughters and a son. He’s always trying to help people and especially refugees he’s tried to help.

“He’s a very amicable person and he does stick by his guns, he says what he believes and he sticks by it.”

He said he got the call about the “dreadful” attack just after midday and rushed to the constituency surgery, but the surrounding roads had already been cordoned off by police.

Aerial footage showed multiple police officers outside the church and an air ambulance at the scene.

A large cordon extended down Eastwood Road, with members of the public gathering behind it, and multiple side streets closed off.

The incident comes five years after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered as she arrived to host a surgery in her Batley and Spen constituency in June 2016.

Her widower Brendan Cox tweeted: “Attacking our elected representatives is an attack on democracy itself. There is no excuse, no justification. It is as cowardly as it gets.”

Sir David was first elected as an MP in 1983, when he served in Basildon.

He then became MP for Southend West where he has been in office since 1997.