David Amess (Image: Getty)
The family of murdered MP Sir David Amess have claimed there is a "wall of silence" over his killing as they lashed out at Yvette Cooper for rejecting calls for a public inquiry. Daughter Katie Amess said the decision was "an insult" and "adding salt onto an open wound". She said her reaction to a letter from the Home Secretary was as “sadness, betrayal, pain and just heartbreak really”.
In a tearful statement, she said: "I still wake up most mornings praying that this is just a nightmare and I will hear my dad's voice again and see his beautiful beaming smile, but I never will." Ms Amess said it was "an entirely preventable murder and an attack on democracy itself", but the horrific incident had been "watered down and brushed under the carpet".
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She insisted there were "serious failings" by both Essex Police and the Government's anti-terror programme Prevent, but no answers have been provided. She vowed to continue a campaign to force Ms Cooper and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to ensure an inquiry takes place.
Ms Amess said her father had been busy helping plan her wedding in the days before his death. In the letter addressed to Ms Amess and Sir David's wife Lady Julia Amess, Ms Cooper said it was “hard to see how an inquiry would be able to go beyond” terrorist killer Ali Harbi Ali’s trial and the recently published Prevent learning review.
Katie Amess says her father's murder has been 'brushed under the carpet' (Image: Sky News)
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Lady Amess said Sir Keir Starmer should “go away and reconsider the Government’s position” ahead of the family’s meeting with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary on Wednesday.
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Ali had been referred to Prevent seven years before he killed Sir David on October 15 2021, but his case was closed in 2016.
The so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex and was sentenced to a whole-life order in 2022.
Sir David’s family received a letter rejecting their call for a public inquiry into the case on Thursday.
In her letter, Ms Cooper said: “You had initially asked me to support the resumption of the coronial inquest which, as I said in my last letter of December 17, is a decision I cannot interfere with given the coroner’s independent judicial role, although I do recognise how difficult this is for you.
“I am aware that you have since requested a full public inquiry.
“As you will know, the coroner looked carefully at whether to resume an inquest into Sir David’s death following the criminal trial, but concluded there were no additional questions that could be answered through an investigation of this kind, that had not already been considered as part of the trial.
“In the circumstances it is therefore hard to see how an inquiry would be able to go beyond what has been reviewed in the trial, Prevent learning review, coroner’s report, as well as Lord Anderson and Essex Police’s forthcoming conclusions.
“On that basis, the Government cannot establish a public inquiry.”
The Home Secretary told the Amess family she had decided to “appoint an independent external reviewer to look across the findings of the investigative work and scrutiny already completed or under way”.
She continued: “I realise this is not the answer you were looking for.
“I remain keen to discuss this with you in the forthcoming meeting with the Prime Minister.”
Lady Amess said the Government should reconsider its position for the “security of all public servants, and for every citizen who deserves to know that when the state fails”.
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She said: “Despite our repeated calls, we have been denied the one thing that can provide real answers — a full public inquiry.
“To pour salt on the wound, Yvette Cooper has now written us a totally unacceptable and, quite frankly, insulting letter confirming that the Government will not order an inquiry, and that all the investigations to date should satisfy us.
“Well, I can tell her they most certainly do not.”
Addressing what she expected from the Prime Minister, Lady Amess said: “He must go away and reconsider the Government’s position and call us back in to confirm that an inquiry will be granted.
“Not just for our family, but for the security of all public servants, and for every citizen who deserves to know that, when the state fails, it will be held accountable and that steps will be taken to ensure there is no repeat.”
Sir David’s daughter Katie said Ms Cooper’s letter left her in “complete and utter disbelief”.
She added: “I felt so, so angry that this was how they felt this should be dealt with and such sadness at the betrayal of people that are claiming to be my dad’s friends just fobbing us off again and again and brushing us under the carpet.
“I felt so sad on my dad’s behalf – he isn’t here any more to stick up for himself so I am trying to do that as much as I can, but I’m just absolutely heartbroken that Yvette Cooper could write this letter to my mother and I and think that we’re just going to go away and accept this.
“It’s adding salt onto an open wound – that’s how I see it. Sadness, betrayal, pain and just heartbreak really.”
Questioned on what she will say to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary on Wednesday, Ms Amess added: “I’m just going to plead my case and pray to God they’ll have a change of heart and realise that my dad was a human being, he isn’t just a political figure in a game of chess, he’s a human being.
“He was a husband, a father, a son, a friend – he should still be here with us now if it wasn’t for completely preventable actions or the actions that weren’t taken.
“So I’m just going to try and speak with them on a human basis and hope that they can see the point of view of his family and not just a political game.”
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Security minister Dan Jarvis said: “In the years since this cowardly attack there have been several reviews asking how this could have been avoided, and we have seen significant improvements to the Prevent programme as well as stronger protections for MPs.
“We understand that the Amess family are still looking for answers and we take this incredibly seriously.
“While we do not think a public inquiry would unearth any information that has not already been assessed, the Home Secretary has confirmed that we will further scrutinise all the reviews that have taken place over the last few years. We very much hope this will help the family to get the justice they deserve.”