Sir David Amess' heartbroken widow and family view sea of flowers left for ...

Sir David Amess' heartbroken wife and children today visited the church where the Tory politician was stabbed to death by a suspected Islamist terrorist who was bent on murdering any MP.

His widow Julia Amess wiped away tears as she read messages of love for her late husband outside the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, with two of their five children this morning. 

Mrs Amess, who also worked for her husband as a part-time caseworker for his Southend West constituency, came to mourn her husband hours after the family said that their hearts had been 'shattered' by his 'cruel and violent death' at a constituency surgery in Essex. They said they could not understand why the 'patriot and a man of peace' was targeted by a knifeman he had never met.

Sir David gave away his youngest daughter at her wedding in August, and Flo was at her mother's side today with her new husband. Flo's sister Katie also came to look at the flowers and mourn while supported by her partner.

Julia cried as she viewed the huge number of floral tributes piled outside the church where her husband was stabbed to death. Family members comforted one another, with one placing an arm around Julia, and they stayed for around 15 minutes.

The minister of Belfairs, Rev Clifford Newman, spoke with Sir David's widow during the family visit to the church. The six visitors bowed their heads and formed a semi-circle around the churchman as he gave a short private address. 

It came as it was revealed the suspect arrested for murdering him forced to attend an official deradicalisation course after a teacher spotted his extremist views at least five years ago after becoming a 'huge fan' of hate preacher Anjem Choudary and his sickening YouTube sermons.

Ali Harbi Ali, 25, is being held by police on suspicion of murdering the veteran Conservative MP as he met with his Southend West constituents on Friday afternoon. It is believed the suspected Islamist terrorist may have chosen his victim at random having become obsessed with killing any MP.  

In a heartbreaking statement his family called for people to 'set aside hatred', adding: 'Nobody should die in that way. Nobody. Whatever one's race, religious or political beliefs, be tolerant and try to understand. We are absolutely broken, but we will survive and carry on for the sake of a wonderful and inspiring man.'  

The suspect accused of stabbing Sir David Amess to death with 17 blows was pictured for the first time today.

Ali Harbi Ali, 25, is being held by police on suspicion of murdering the veteran Conservative MP as he met with his Southend West constituents on Friday afternoon. It is believed the suspected Islamist terrorist may have chosen his victim at random having become obsessed with killing any MP.

His friends have claimed he was further radicalised and turned into a lone-wolf killer during lockdown watching YouTube videos of convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudary with police and MI5 also looking whether Sir David was chosen due to his support for Qatar, which has been exerting its influence in Somalia, the country of his diplomat father's birth.

Ali, the son of a former Somalian diplomat who was born in Britain and raised in Croydon, was referred to the flagship anti-extremism scheme, Prevent, which aims to stop individuals becoming terrorists. But there are major questions after his behaviour was not considered to be extreme enough to alert MI5. These referrals are not currently mandatory.

He is alleged to have shown an interest in radical Islam and was referred to Prevent, believed to be when he was in his late teens. He decided to move in with an aunt and her sons in a council house in the upmarket North London enclave of Kentish Town, in a street of £2million three-storey townhouses. 

His referral is understood to have coincided with a deterioration in his relationship with his Somali-born parents. Ali's parents split up when he was young and his father returned to Somalia. One neighbour, who has known the family for twenty years, said that Ali spoke of hopes of becoming a doctor with the NHS, saying: 'He told me he'd been doing exams and he seemed westernised.' 

Police and intelligence officials are said to be mystified about why the 69-year-old Tory politician was singled out for attack by a suspected Islamist extremist. Reports had initially suggested that Sir David, a devout Roman Catholic and prominent Brexiteer who was MP for Southend West, had been selected because of his political views or religion.

Investigators now believe that there may have been no specific motive for the targeting of Sir David, and that the 69-year-old was stabbed to death because his alleged killer had plotted to kill any national politician - and had succeeded in booking a face-to-face meeting with him at a church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday. 

Sources close to the investigation believe Ali may have considered killing other MPs, including Labour and Tory politicians, before picking Sir David, according to The Telegraph. One government insider told the paper: 'He was unlucky. He was not targeted because of his political party. David Amess was not specifically targeted.' 

The revelation raises urgent questions about the mentoring scheme and whether an opportunity was missed to avert the MP's horrific murder. 

Police are also investigating the alleged close ties between Sir David and Qatar. The Tory MP was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Gulf state and returned from his latest visit there on Wednesday last week. The man being questioned over the stabbing is the son of a former adviser to the office of the Prime Minister of Somalia. Qatar supports the present Somali President. Security sources told The Times that all avenues were being explored in the case. 

Last night former friends of Ali, a British national of Somali heritage who grew up in a three-bed 1980s terrace house in Croydon with his mother, two sisters and brother, claimed he was radicalised after watching YouTube videos of convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudary. Speaking to The Sun, they claimed the videos turned Ali from a 'popular pupil into an extremist'.  

Detectives meanwhile have been interviewing the father of murder suspect Ali at a home in North London. One former friend, Harbi Farah, told The Sun: 'I have known his dad Harbi for more than ten years. He's a good man and this will be very upsetting for him. He's a well-respected member of the Somali community in Britain and also in Somalia.' 

Officers raided Ali's 'childhood home' in Croydon on Friday. It comes as Met Police officers were yesterday seen guarding a property in a tree-lined street in North London, where Ali is believed to currently live. Police were seen walking into the property and a blue and yellow tent was erected outside the council-owned property on the street, where homes sell for around £2million.   

It comes as intelligence officials are believed to have warned Ministers that Britain could face a wave of terrorist attacks carried out by 'bedroom radicals' - so-called 'lone wolf' terrorists who turned to extremism after spending months at home during the Covid lockdown. 

'Counter-terror police and MI5 have been concerned for some time that once we emerged out of lockdown there would be more people out on the streets and more targets for the terrorists,' one security source told The Telegraph.

It has also emerged: 

As police continued to quiz the London-born suspect, his father spoke of the family's shock. Harbi Ali Kullane, a former media and communications adviser to the Prime Minister of Somalia, said he was 'traumatised' by his son's arrest. 

He added: 'At this particular moment we are going through [an] unprecedented and horrific situation.'

Mr Kullane spoke out as details emerged about the suspected killer's upbringing in south London.

Detectives have been piecing together the suspect's movements in the hours before Friday's attack. 

They have not found any obvious affiliation to a terrorist group and do not believe Ali had ever previously met Sir David. They have found nothing to suggest the MP was attacked because of his voting record, 'but that could well come out as a factor', a source said.

Police upgraded the attack to a terrorism incident on Friday night after interviewing the suspect. Officers spent the weekend searching his home and yesterday erected a forensic tent in the front garden. Others were seen walking inside holding shovels, suggesting the rear garden was being dug up.

CCTV footage from nearby convenience stores has been seized by police, suggesting Ali walked past them to reach the nearby Gospel Oak station to travel to Sir David's constituency surgery at the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on Friday morning.

One neighbour told how armed police swooped on the suspect's north London home hours after the attack.

'They all arrived in the early afternoon – it was very dramatic,' he said. 'It's absolutely horrifying to think the property is linked to the MP murder. They've been here ever since doing a lot of work.'

Another neighbour described the household as 'polite, respectful and decent'. He said: 'There was often a tallish chap outside who would be around 25. He would smoke outside. He'd always say hello.

'They're a good family. This is off the scale. It's horrendous.

'They were all great. I can't believe it. They were polite and respectful.

'It's very shocking that he may have travelled from this street to reach the MP's constituency. It's incredible.'

Mr Kullane returned to the UK two years ago to have a heart operation on the NHS, neighbours said. He lives with his sister in the north London district of Bounds Green, and the home was also visited by police over the weekend.

Police also searched the Croydon house where the suspect's mother and siblings live. Officers spent more than 24 hours scouring the premises and took the family away, with police warning them that they would not be returning for a while.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'The kids used to go to a mosque nearby, but I didn't think they did any more. They've been very good neighbours.'

Sir David's family said their hearts had been 'shattered' by his 'cruel and violent death' at a constituency surgery in Essex. They said they could not understand why the 'patriot and a man of peace' was targeted by a knifeman he had never met.

The 69-year-old father of five was ambushed at his Friday meeting with the public and stabbed 17 times in a frenzied attack. In a heartbreaking statement his family called for people to 'set aside hatred', adding: 'Nobody should die in that way. Nobody.

'Whatever one's race, religious or political beliefs, be tolerant and try to understand. We are absolutely broken, but we will survive and carry on for the sake of a wonderful and inspiring man.' 

Detectives were last night still quizzing Ali who was arrested on suspicion of Sir David's murder at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday.

The British-born Muslim, who is of Somalian descent, had been referred to the Prevent programme over radicalisation fears by a concerned member of the community.

It is understood that the referral was not made by a member of the police or the security services.

It is not known whether it was a friend or relative, or someone from healthcare, education, social services or a religious group.

It resulted in Ali taking part in a course, which is believed to have been a 'Channel' mentoring scheme. Despite this intervention, which is thought to have taken place several years ago, MI5 was apparently not alerted and Ali was not investigated as a potential terror threat by police.

Priti Patel said a review of Prevent would examine whether it was 'fit for purpose'.

'It's right that we review what works, what doesn't work, what needs bolstering if there are any gaps, all of that, because Prevent isn't just about policing,' the Home Secretary said. 'Prevent is about how multi-agency partners come together.' 

Yesterday critics questioned whether experts missed opportunities to stop a suspect described by investigators as a 'lone wolf' extremist.

Sam Armstrong of the Henry Jackson Society think-tank said: 'Questions must be asked about this case. Counter-extremism professionals seem to have lost sight of their duty which is to prevent terrorism.

'There has been an under-referral of Islamist cases and an over-referral of extreme Right-wing cases and we are now seeing the deadly consequences. The Prevent review has been derailed by Left-wing groups trying to litigate every aspect of its work and yet a cold hard look at the number of cases in which Prevent has fallen short shows this is only the latest in a long line.'

The Home Office scheme, which has an annual budget of around £40million, has been under scrutiny for years after a series of terrorists slipped through its net, including Reading

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