The suspect accused of stabbing Sir David Amess to death in a terror attack told the MP’s aide he wouldn’t take ‘too long’ to meet him at the constituency surgery where he died, a court has heard.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, trekked for nearly two-and-a-half hours from his home in north London to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where Sir David was hosting appointments in a church on October 15 last year, jurors at the Old Bailey were told.
CCTV footage shown in court showed Ali wearing a long khaki coat and a black rucksack as he passed commuters and schoolchildren, even stopping to help another passenger with directions.
Email exchanges between Ali and one of the Sir David’s aides, in which they arranged the meeting, were shown by prosecutors in court.
In his introductory message, he wrote: ‘I will be moving to the area from a Labour-held constituency and wanted to get to know my future MP.
‘Since I work in healthcare, I would like to know his plans, if any, for the hospital and workers.
‘Also, as someone interested in Christianity, I have seen many churches in my area losing attendances and struggle with upkeep, eventually becoming at risk of being demolished or repurposed.
‘I wanted to know if the situation in Southend is similar and, if so, what are the solutions.
‘Looking forward to seeing you soon. If all appointments are taken, let me know if there’s a cancellation. I’ll be in the local area and will be able to drop by.’
After the aide asked Ali for his name and address to check whether he was a constituent, the 26-year-old simply gave her a postcode in Southend, writing: ‘I’ll be in the local area on Friday so it would be nice to see him regardless, although I know he’s a very busy man so I can appreciate (it) if that’s not possible.’
As they discussed the timing of the appointment, he added: ‘I don’t really know how long the appointments are but I don’t think I’ll take too long. Thanks for all the help so far.’
Prosecutors say the suspect waited outside the church for 25 minutes before his noon slot, where he stabbed Sir David 21 times and waved a bloody knife around before he was detained by unarmed police.
Jurors were also told he sent a message to family and friends around the time of the attack, saying it was ‘for the sake of Allah’, and appeared to have drafted it days earlier.
He allegedly wrote: ‘I apologise to my family for deceiving them for so long. I would have preferred Hijrah so as not to harm you but I could not.’
Hijrah is an Islamic concept referring to migrating away from a place where the religion cannot be freely practised, and has been manipulated by extremist groups such as Islamic State to attract followers to Syria and Iraq.
The letter continued: ‘The obligations upon me to take revenge for the blood of Muslims were too great.
‘The shame of abiding in the very lands that carry out these horrendous acts against my brothers and sisters was too much.’
Ali, from Kentish Town, denies preparing terrorist acts and murder. The trial continues.
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