David Ames Dies: Priti Patel Says MPs Need To Be Safe And Accessible.
Key Sentence:
- MPs should be "publicly available," Interior Minister Priti Patel said after the assassination of Sir David Ames.
- The death of the Essex MP has raised concerns about the safety of the politicians and the harassment they experience online.
Ms. Patel said he and Commons President Sir Lindsay Hoyle were working on "practical" steps to protect lawmakers. He added that any action taken against anonymous social media accounts that could be used for "democratic" reasons must be "proportionate." In an interview with the Andrew Marr, he said it was "not just about MPs," adding that children were "exposed to the most horrific hate and abuse on the internet."
He said the government's online tampering law provides an opportunity for all politicians to come together to "close corrosive areas online where we see appalling behavior." On Friday, Sir David, 69, was stabbed to death at the Belfairs Methodist Church in Lee-on-Sea for a public meeting.
After the killing, one man arrested by police was Ali Harby Ali, a 25-year-old Briton of Somali descent, Whitehall officials. Police say he is being held at the London Police Department under the Terrorism Act 2000. The was told that several years ago, it was the government's so-called "prevention program" to combat extremism, which aims to eradicate radicalization of the people.
Teachers, communities, the National Health Service, and others can refer individuals to local groups of police, social workers, and other experts who will decide whether and how to intervene in their lives. It is believed that Mr. Ali has long been out of the voluntary system and is not on MI5's watch list at this time.
Describing hearing the news that Sir David had died, Ms. Patel said, "Honestly, our world is falling apart." He said the lawmaker was a "good friend" whose "infectious personality" meant that he had "touched so many lives." The attack has raised questions about whether lawmakers should continue to confront voters without police protection - with a conservative lawmaker proposing to suspend face-to-face operations.
Most MPs conduct weekly operations in their vicinity, often in public buildings such as libraries where their constituents can seek help or advice.