Police search for motive in British lawmaker’s killing
By Mark Landler, Megan Specia and Stephen Castle
LONDON — Police searched for answers Sunday (17) about what might have motivated a 25-year-old British man of Somali heritage, the suspect in the brutal slaying of a Conservative Party lawmaker during a meeting with his constituents that has shaken Britain’s political establishment.
Scotland Yard has not yet publicly named the suspect, though British news organizations, including the BBC, have identified him as Ali Harbi Ali. Ali’s father, Harbi Ali Kullane, told The Times of London that his son was being held in custody and described himself as “very traumatized” by the accusations.
Referring to the accusations, Kullane, who once served as an adviser to Somalia’s prime minister, said in the interview with The Times, “It’s not something that I expected or even dreamt of.”
The BBC reported that several years ago, Ali had been referred to a government program known as Prevent, which aims to keep people from being drawn to extremist ideas on social media. But his name has not been on any terrorism watch lists, according to the broadcaster.
The Metropolitan Police said Saturday (16) that they had been granted a warrant under the Terrorism Act to keep the suspect in detention for six extra days in connection with the killing of the lawmaker, David Amess, on Friday (15) in Leigh-on-Sea, England.
On Sunday, police guarded a red-brick row house on a tree-lined street in North London where the suspect is believed to live with his family. It was one of three addresses in London that were being searched by police.
The killing has rekindled questions about the security of members of Parliament, who routinely make themselves available to constituents in monthly meetings that are advertised in advance and that can become tense when voters show up with lists of grievances.
Britain’s home secretary, Priti Patel, said the government would review security policies for lawmakers, particularly as they relate to constituent meetings. But she cautioned that these measures should not prevent voters from having face-to-face access to their elected representatives.
The motive for targeting Amess, who was 69, was not clear. A soft-spoken, well-liked backbencher in the House of Commons, he was known for his staunch support of Brexit and his advocacy for animal welfare.
A Catholic and social conservative, Amess was also a strong supporter of Israel and of an Iranian opposition group, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, which campaigns for the overthrow of Iran’s government.
-New York Times