The Somalian father of the suspected terrorist alleged to have killed Conservative MP Sir David Amess in Friday's horrific knife attack in Essex while meeting his constituents said he had been left 'traumatised' by the shock of his son being arrested for the crime.
Harbi Ali Kullane, a former communications advisor to the Prime Minister of Somalia, spoke to The Sunday Times to confirm that his British-born son Ali Harbi Ali, 25, was in police custody following the stabbing at Sir David's constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea.
Speaking at his sister's home in North London, Kullane told the paper that counter-terrorism police from Scotland Yard had visited him, adding: 'I'm feeling very traumatised. It's not something that I expected or ever dreamt of.'
As police continued to question a 25-year-old British man of Somalian descent last night, security sources told The Mail on Sunday that the attacker had booked an appointment at Sir David's surgery before allegedly stabbing the politician 17 times.
Ali may have lived in Sir David's Southend West constituency in the past, but his most recent residence is believed to be in London, where counter-terrorism officers have been carrying out searches at three addresses since Friday's attack. The security services are providing assistance to Scotland Yard, which is leading the investigation.
Last night, detectives were granted a warrant of further detention, allowing them to keep Ali in custody until next Friday, October 22.
Police were photographed standing guard outside the North London council house where Ali lives. It is in a street of £2million three-storey townhouses where neighbours include broadcaster Giles Coren and, formerly, the late actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who played Trigger in Only Fools And Horses.
Sir David, 69, who had been an MP since 1983, met the public every fortnight and advertised the details on his parliamentary website. Shortly before his killing, one Minister told the MoS that the Government feared a wave of fresh terror attacks as the country emerged from the Covid pandemic, due to an 'epidemic' of 'bedroom radicals' who spent lockdown hunched over computers plotting atrocities.
As Westminster reverberated with shock yesterday:
Sir David's grieving family were comforting each other at the house of his wife Julia's mother, four miles from the scene, where they were too upset to comment. A friend of Sir David's personal assistant, Julia Cushion, who witnessed the attack, said: 'She's very, very upset. She's a mess.' Former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood called for face-to-face meetings to be put on hold pending a security review, but Ms Patel said a balance was needed and that MPs should not be 'cowed' by terrorists; Muslims from Southend's mosques called the murder an 'indefensible atrocity'; Somali leaders also condemned the 'senseless murder which has shocked communities across the country'; A Labour source said the party will not be standing a candidate in the by-election for Sir David's seat out of respect, and nor will the Lib Dems.
Harbi Ali Kullane, a former communications advisor to the Prime Minister of Somalia, spoke to The Sunday Times to confirm that his British-born son Ali Harbi Ali, 25, was in police custody following the stabbing at Conservative MP Sir David Amess' constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea
Pictured: Police outside the home of the suspect in Kentish Town on Saturday night
Police officers attend following the stabbing of UK Conservative MP Sir David Amess as he met with constituents at a constituency surgery on October 15t, in Leigh-on-Sea
The Prime Minister lays a wreath of flowers at the foot of a tree in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex and Sir Keir Starmer stands behind him
Well-wishers attend a candle-lit vigil in memory of the Conservative MP David Amess, who was fatally stabbed the previous day, in Leigh-on-Sea
Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Starmer, Priti Patel and Sir Lyndsay Hoyle arrive to the scene of Sir David Amess's killing in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to pay tribute Saturday
Members of the public attend a vigil for Sir David on the field where an air ambulance landed as paramedics tried to save the MP for Southend West, after he was stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Police officers stand nearby as crowds gather in darkness at Belfairs sports ground in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on Saturday evening to honour the 69-year-old Tory MP, who was killed while meeting constituents yesterday
Ali - who had not been charged last night - is being questioned by police to establish whether he had links to radical Islamic groups. Whitehall insiders said Ali was not known to MI5, although he is thought to have been targeted by Prevent, the Government deradicalisation programme, some years ago.
It is understood that initial indications point to the attacker being a 'lone wolf' who had 'self-radicalised' ahead of the attack at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea at Friday lunchtime.
Sources said that the suspect lived in London and travelled to Essex by train to carry out the attack. He had apparently told Sir David's constituency staffers that he had recently moved to the area.
Ali was yesterday moved from Southend and taken for questioning to a specialised higher-security unit for terror suspects in London. A post mortem on Sir David has also been conducted.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: 'Late on Friday, whilst in police custody, the man was subsequently further detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and he is now being held at a London police station.
'On Saturday, detectives were granted a warrant of further detention at Westminster Magistrates' Court, allowing them to keep the man in custody until October 22, when the warrant expires. As part of the
