MP murder suspect, 25, told David Amess he was moving to Southend

The terror suspect accused of killing Sir David Amess had been a ‘lovely young man for much of the time’ but ‘disengaged’ in sixth form, his old headmaster claims following reports that he had posed as a prospective constituent to meet the MP.  

Ali Harbi Ali is said to have queued with others waiting to speak to the veteran Conservative last Friday after making an appointment a week earlier.

One source told the Telegraph: ‘Although the sessions are reserved for constituents, it is understood he told staff he was moving into the area imminently and had a number of issues relating to healthcare that he wished to discuss.’

Ali’s former headteacher said tonight that he had started to ‘disengage’ with school and skipped lessons when he got to the sixth form.

Gordon Smith, who was headmaster of Riddlesdown High School in Croydon, South London, when Ali attended between the years 2007 and 2014, describes his pupil as ‘lovely young man for the vast majority of the time.’

But Mr Smith, who is now CEO of The Collegiate Trust, which supports academies in Croydon and Crawley, added: ‘There were a few issues when he got to the sixth form. He started to disengage. His attendance in class began to wane. He was missing lessons. Where he was instead, I can’t tell you.

‘Whether there were any concerns over him becoming more extreme in his religious views, I’m not prepared to go into at this stage, while there is a live police investigation.

‘There was no evidence presented to us of him becoming like that. I’ve read that he was apparently watching Anjem Choudary videos, again that is something that I was not privy to.’

Former friends of 25-year-old Ali, who is being quizzed over the stab murder of Tory MP Sir David Amess, say that he went from being a quiet, intelligent teenager to a radical after being brainwashed through Choudary’s YouTube videos.

But Choudary denied being his inspiration and revealed to MailOnline earlier today how he had considered making even more YouTube videos – until Sir David’s murder in Southend on Friday had made him think twice.

It came as CCTV emerged of 25-year-old Ali Harbi Ali, whose family hoped he would become a doctor, strolling down the street just hours before the killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess.

The 25-year-old suspect was filmed leaving his home in an affluent area of North London. 

Clutching a bulky rucksack, he is heading to Gospel Oak station at 8.44am on Friday. Three hours later he would arrive at a constituency surgery in Essex where Sir David was stabbed to death. 

In the footage, which is understood to form a key part of police inquiries, the suspected killer can be seen holding his rucksack tightly, with his other hand hidden in his pocket. 

He had reportedly made an appointment a week earlier to meet the 69-year-old MP. Ali is wearing a large knee-length parka jacket, black trousers and trainers.

From Gospel Oak, Ali is thought to have travelled towards east London on the overground network before changing to a mainline rail service for Leigh-on-Sea. The journey of around 90 minutes means he could have arrived in the area by 10.30am – an hour and a half before Sir David was attacked at his surgery in Leigh’s Methodist church.

Police obtained the CCTV footage on Saturday from a shop close to the home the suspect is thought to have shared with his aunt and cousins. Ismet Cengiz, 50, the manager of the Costcutter, said he was visited by a detective yesterday. 

‘She said she was investigating the MP’s murder and asked to have a look at the CCTV footage,’ he added. ‘They wanted to look at the street outside.’

Today there were calls for MI5 and counter-terrorism police to be given a greater say on who is forced on to anti-extremism programmes such as Prevent – rather than teachers, NHS staff and religious leaders – after it emerged Ali Harbi Ali had been referred around five years ago but not logged with the security services, which is not currently mandatory.

Detectives are also trying to piece together how a boy from Croydon sent to the local CofE school by his Somali parents where he happily sang hymns and played football turned into a suspected killer extremist. 

Yesterday it emerged that the Southend West MP might have been targeted simply because his constituency surgeries were so well advertised online.

Investigators have yet to find any other reason why the father of five was targeted. There is no evidence that Ali – a British Muslim and son of a Somali government adviser – tried to make appointments with any other MPs, sources say. Sir Keir Starmer would have been the suspect’s local MP, but due to his position as Labour leader there might have been more security checks. 

Counter-terrorism police are continuing to quiz Ali, who was arrested at the scene. They have seized other CCTV footage from houses and shops near his home in Kentish Town and from properties along the route to Sir David’s surgery at the Belfairs Methodist Church. 

It comes as Boris Johnson sat shoulder to shoulder with Sir Keir and MPs from all parties at an emotional church service for Sir David last night, as religious leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, led a service of prayer and remembrance for the Conservative.  

The congregation – including Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, who wiped his eyes as Home Secretary Priti Patel turned her gaze to the ground a few seats away – knelt while prayers were read by individuals including the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.  

In the latest developments: 

Boris Johnson told the Commons that Southend will be accorded city status in honour of Sir David; Ali was referred to Prevent – but not considered ‘extreme enough’ to be passed on to MI5; Spies and police scour suspect’s family connections to Somalia and Kenya for any clues and whether Sir David’s campaigning for Qatar could form part of any motive; Westminster politicians are split over whether police should protect them at constituency events or if private security should be deployed instead;

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 succeeded in booking a face-to-face meeting with him at a church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday.

It was alleged today that the father of the terror suspect was given death threats by jihadis and ‘despises terrorists’ after being intimidated by al-Shabaab extremists in his native Somalia. 

Harbi Ali Kullane was once a spin doctor for the prime minister of Somalia before fleeing the country for London just before his eldest son Ali was born in Southwark in 1996. He went on to have three more children with his wife.

A security source said: ‘He was quite involved in countering al-Shabaab’s message in his role as comms director, and he received death threats from them for doing so, which is common for anyone involved in a high-profile position in the Government’.

But his son was said to have been referred to an official deradicalisation course after a teacher spotted his extremist views at least five years ago.

The same insider told the Telegraph: ‘He (Harbi Ali Kullane) himself despises terrorists, so it would be hard to imagine how his son has become radicalised as a result’.

Mr Kullane has reportedly been spoken to by counter-terrorism police from Scotland Yard with specialists working with MI5 and MI6 to analysing his phone to see if it offers any explanation for his son’s movements in the days and hours before the Tory MP was stabbed to death in a Leigh-on-Sea church. 

Sources close to the investigation believe the suspect 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. 

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.’

Sir David’s heartbroken wife and children today visited the church where the Tory politician was stabbed to death. His widow Julia Amess wiped away tears as she read messages of love for her late husband outside the Belfairs Methodist Church along with two of their five children this morning – hours before Boris Johnson revealed the Queen has given Sir David’s beloved Southend-on-Sea city status in his memory.

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.

The Prime Minister led a sombre procession of around 800 politicians as they filed in to a church service to remember their murdered colleague, Sir David. Wearing black suits, dresses, and facemasks, the MPs and peers walked from Parliament to St Margaret’s Church in Westminster Abbey, central London. Ministers followed Mr Johnson and took their seats in the pews while organ music filled the church. 

MPs and peers fell silent as the service to remember Sir David Amess at St Margaret’s in Westminster Abbey began. Politicians from all parties, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Lisa Nandy sat in the rows behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who sat on the front row nearby Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke of Sir David as a ‘friend to his constituents’ who had a ‘robust fairness of spirit and charity of heart’ which endeared him to MPs from all parties. 

Justin Welby said: ‘He was of the best, and his name will be remembered with Airey Neave, Robert Bradford, Anthony Berry, Ian Gow and Jo Cox, those MPs murdered since 1945, and others – like Andrew Pennington – who have died in the course of public service.

‘Public service in politics is a sacrifice that should be honoured and respected, even when differences of opinion run very deep indeed.’

Sir David had walked his daughter Flo down the aisle in 2019 and she was at her mother’s side today with her American husband Shawn. Flo’s sister Katie, an actress and model, also came to look at the flowers and mourn her father while supported by her husband, the Southend rapper Verses Bang. But Alexandra, who the MP gave away at her wedding in August, daughter Sarah and son David Jr were not at the church today.

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 her, and they stayed for around 15 minutes.

The minister of Belfairs, Rev Clifford Newman, hugged 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 hours before the Queen granted the veteran politician his 20-year wish of Southend becoming a city as the Commons gathered to express its grief at his killing.

Mr Johnson told a packed chamber the attack on the Tory veteran had been ‘contemptible’ and struck at the ‘core’ of what it means to be an MP as colleagues paid emotional tributes.

He insisted that the fundamental functions of democracy would not be damaged by the murder of ‘one of the nicest, kindest and most gentle’ individuals ever to have sat in the House. 

Mr Johnson said all MPs mourn with Sir David’s family, adding in the Commons: ‘Sir David was taken from us in a contemptible act of violence striking at the core of what it is to be a member of this House, and violating both the sanctity of the church in which he was killed and the constituency surgery that is so essential to our representative democracy.

‘But we will not allow the manner of Sir David’s death in any way to detract from his accomplishments as a politician or as a human being.

‘Sir David was a patriot who believed passionately in this country, in its people and in its future. He was also one of the nicest, kindest and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches.’ 

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.

Police and MI5 are 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.  

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.’