UPDATE - UK lawmakers pay tribute to Sir David Amess

UPDATES WITH TRIBUTES, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – British lawmakers held a minute of silence on Monday to remember Conservative MP Sir David Amess who was stabbed to death last Friday.

The House of Commons continued its first session following the minute of silence with Home Office questions.

A special session on Amess later started at the House of Commons to pay tribute to the stabbed lawmaker.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the House of Commons mourns together with Sir David’s family.

“The last 72 hours has done little to numb the shock and sadness we all felt when we heard of the tragic and senseless death of Sir David Amess,” Johnson said.

“Nothing I or anyone else can say will lessen the pain, the grief, the anger they must feel at this darkest of times,” he added.

“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 the sanctity both 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 to in any way detract from his accomplishments as a politician or as a human being. Because Sir David was a patriot who believed passionately in this country, in its people, in its future.”

Johnson also said the Queen agreed Southend, a town in southeast England, to receive a city status, a cause Amess had campaigned until his death.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the House of Commons united in grief.

“Civility matters and it matters in politics,” he said.

“We must not lose sight that David’s killing was an act of terror in our country,” Starmer said.

“A cowardly attack on a public servant doing his job is an attack on our country and our way of life.”

Amess was killed in Leigh-on-Sea, a town in Essex, England, during a meeting with constituents.

A 25-year-old man, arrested shortly after the incident, was questioned by counter-terrorism officers as the police declared the incident as terrorism.

The members of the both houses of parliament are expected to join a commemoration ceremony at the St Margaret’s Church following a special session to pay tribute to the Tory lawmaker.

A book of condolences will also be opened for Amess, who served as a member of parliament for 38 years. He was 69 years old.

Also on Monday, the family of Amess visited the church where he was killed in Leigh-on-Sea. The family said in a statement on Sunday that their hearts are shattered but called for people to “set aside hatred” and show love.

Home Secretary Priti Patel earlier said that a review on the security of members of parliament by the police will be completed in “the next few days.”