Jurors shown footage of plain-clothes police stopping MP murder suspect
Jurors have been shown footage of the moment a knifewielding terror suspect accused of murdering MP Sir David Amess was tackled by two plain-clothes police officers.
The video shows Essex Police constables Scott James and Ryan Curtis ordering Ali Harbi Ali to drop a bloody, foot-long carving knife before charging at him and pinning him to the floor.
In the aftermath, 26-year-old university drop-out Ali, who is said to have excelled at school, could be heard saying he was “prepared to die”, before asking the officers to put his glasses back on his face.
One of the officers replied: “Mate, that’s not our concern.”
The stand-off happened within minutes of Conservative backbencher Sir David being knifed more than 20 times as he held a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-sea.
Pcs James and Curtis were in the area on October 15 2021 trying to find an unrelated wanted suspect when they were called to Belfairs Methodist Church, where Sir David’s meeting was being held, the Old Bailey heard.
The duo arrived to be told the 69-year-old politician had been “stabbed several times”.
The pair, armed only with batons and incapacitant spray, ran into the building and came face to face with the suspect.
The officers shouted: “Drop that knife.”
One added: “It’s only going to go one way. Please drop that knife.”
The pair then charged at Ali, who is said to have been on a 14-minute phone call with his “hysterical” sister at the time.
Ali then said: “My phone’s rung, it’s the family.”
Shouting, as if to ensure the caller could hear, he added: “Don’t worry. The police got me. They’re not gonna shoot.”
Ali was taken into custody, where he allegedly told the booking-in officer the incident was both “terror” related and had “religious” motivations.
Jurors were also shown CCTV footage of Ali walking around Westminster, past
Downing Street, along the Carriage Gates entrance to the House of Commons and around Parliament Square, less than a month before Sir
David was killed.
Ali had managed to arrange an appointment with Sir David by duping the veteran politician’s office into believing he
was a healthcare worker moving to the area who wished to discuss local matters.