Essex Police have arrested a man after a video appeared to show someone spitting on a memorial to murdered MP Sir David Amess. The man, in his 30s, is being questioned on suspicion of a public order offence and criminal damage.
The now-deleted video, shared on TikTok, showed a man apparently filming himself spitting multiple times on a statue of Sir David on Southend seafront. The incident comes days after the fifth anniversary of his death.
Background of the murder
Sir David was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery on October 15, 2021, by Ali Harbi Ali, described as an Islamic State fanatic. Ali was sentenced to a whole-life order for the murder the following year.
The Conservative MP served for nearly 40 years until he was killed at the age of 69.
Family's response
Sir David's family said earlier this week that they were 'deeply upset by what they have seen'. They have welcomed the investigation, with a spokesperson saying: 'David believed passionately in freedom of expression and the right to disagree.'
'He understood that people would hold different political views, sometimes profoundly so. But disagreement should never be an excuse for abandoning basic standards of decency and respect.'
'David was murdered because of the extremism of another individual. Five years on, his family continues to live with the consequences of that terrible loss.'
Essex Police said they received a report about the video on Wednesday.
