The local terrorist was found guilty of stabbing Sir David Amess to death on October 15 last year.
The 26-year-old carried out the ‘cold and calculating’ murder at the veteran MP’s constituency surgery practice in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
He told the Old Bailey trial he did not regret the murder, defending his actions by saying Sir David deserved to die after he voted in parliament for airstrikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.
A jury deliberated for just 18 minutes to find Ali guilty of murder and plotting to commit terrorism.
Judge Sweeney said Ali, who refused to appear in the dock for “religious reasons” while convicted, would be sentenced on Wednesday.
Ali sent a manifesto on WhatsApp to family and friends seeking to justify his actions at the time of the attack, telling Sir David he was ‘sorry’ before plunging the knife into him, which caused the politician.
He died at the scene.
Ali was then apprehended by two police officers armed only with batons and spray cans.
Essex Police Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow hailed his officers’ “astonishing bravery” in the fight against Ali.
He said: ‘They basically came in armed with a stick – something that seems smaller than a box of deodorant – to deal with a man who has just done an absolutely heinous act, still armed with this knife. .
“I think it’s an incredible act of bravery.”
Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill QC said the murder was “the most appalling tragedy”, especially for the Amess family, and an “attack on democracy”.
He said: “I am obviously delighted that at the end of what must have been a very difficult trial for the family of Sir David Amess, justice has been served and that this individual is now paying the price for his crimes.”
The court heard how London-born Ali self-radicalized in 2014, dropping out of university, abandoning his career ambitions in medicine.
The defendant, who comes from an influential Somali family and who said he had a childhood “full of love and care”, considered going to Syria to fight, but in 2019 he opted for a attack in Britain.
Ali bought a £20 knife from Argos six years ago which he carried in his bag throughout the summer of 2021 as he ‘scouted’ for possible targets, jurors heard.
He carried out reconnaissance on the Houses of Parliament but found police officers “armed to the teeth” there.
Ali searched online for MPs including Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
He staked out the west London home of leveling secretary Mr Gove six times and wrote detailed notes on how he could reach him.
Scenarios included mingling with the media, bumping into him while jogging, ringing his doorbell, and causing a scene to “lure” him out.
Ali rejected the plan after Mr Gove split from his wife and reportedly moved out of the family home.
He later told police, “It was…so convenient to go to that address but I don’t know why I didn’t go to that one.”
Ali, from Kentish Town, north London, was also seen hiding outside the constituency office of Finchley MP Mike Freer, jurors heard.
In September last year, Ali picked Sir David as an easy target after seeing his upcoming surgery at Leigh-on-Sea on Twitter.
He made an appointment through the MP’s office, falsely claiming he was moving to the area and had an interest in churches.
On the morning of October 15 last year, he was surprised by chilling CCTV as he made his way on foot and by train to Essex.
Minutes after meeting Sir David, Ali pulled out a 12-inch carving knife and stabbed him more than 20 times.
He waved the bloodied knife and threatened to kill the deputy’s two assistants and a couple who had arrived for their date.
Sir David’s assistant, Julie Cushion, told jurors he seemed “satisfied with himself” following the brutal murder.
During a police interview, he spoke calmly about his terror plot and admitted his allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.
He told officers Sir David immediately suspected a ‘prick’, after he was tricked into talking about a fake drug ‘cake’ on the TV series Brass Eye.
He continued: “I felt like one minute I was sitting at the table talking to him and the next he was kind of dead.
“But, yeah, this is probably one of the weirdest days…of my life right now, you know?”
Jurors were told Ali had no mental health issues and he accepted much of the evidence against him.
Sir David was killed five years after Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was murdered in his constituency.
His death has sparked renewed concern for the safety of MPs.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-11 12:09:07
