A murder trial was told a piercing scream was heard minutes after Ali Harbi Ali met Sir David Amess.
Image source, Getty Images
A terror suspect had a look of “self-satisfaction” moments after stabbing an MP to death, a parliamentary aide said.
Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, died after he was stabbed 21 times during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on 15 October.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, on trial at the Old Bailey, denies murder and preparing acts of terrorism.
Julie Cushion, a long-term member of Sir David’s team, told the jury she heard a “piercing scream”.
The court heard Ms Cushion had been the first to call 999 from the scene at 12:07 BST.
Sir David was attacked in a back room of Belfairs Methodist Church during an appointment made by the defendant, the prosecution said.
Giving evidence from behind a screen, Ms Cushion said: “A piercing scream was the first thing I heard. Then a very loud crash which I assumed was furniture going over.
“I got up and walked through, I assumed something structurally had happened.”
‘Self-satisfaction’
She said that another aide, Rebecca Hayton, ran from the room “screaming that Sir David had been stabbed”.
“At that moment I picked up my phone to call for help,” Ms Cushion added.
Asked how Mr Ali looked, she told the jury: “Self-satisfaction, I would describe it.”
The trial previously heard how Mr Ali had spent years plotting an attack, researching a range of potential victims including high-profile politicians Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before choosing the 69-year-old backbencher.
Ms Cushion said Sir David had moved the meeting from his constituency office, where there was security, into the community after coronavirus restrictions were lifted because he “wanted to be accessible to his constituents”.
Image source, Metropolitan Police/PA Media
Mr Ali had claimed to be a healthcare worker moving to the area who “wanted to get to know his new MP”, aides were told.
On Tuesday, jurors were played a 999 call from the aftermath of the attack where a witness said Mr Ali was threatening to kill four other people.
They were also shown CCTV footage of Mr Ali making the journey from his home in Kentish Town, north London, to the appointment in Leigh-on-Sea, by train and on foot along busy high streets and residential areas.
The court heard Mr Ali had a “warped” ideology and sought to exact “revenge” over Britain’s recent foreign policy, notably bombings in Syria in the mid 2010s, allegedly telling bystanders at the scene: “I want him dead. I want every Parliament minister (sic) who signed up for the bombing of Syria who agreed to the Iraqi war to die.”
The trial continues.
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- 17 hours ago