Murder suspect grew up in ‘friendly family’
THE man suspected of murdering MP Sir David Amess grew up in a “lovely, friendly family” on a suburban street, neighbours said.
Ali Harbi Ali’s mother and sisters helped residents with their shopping during lockdowns.
Officers from Scotland Yard’s counter-terror squad searched the terraced property in Croydon, south London, yesterday.
Locals were shocked at the arrest of 25-year-old Ali for the murder. A neighbour said: “This is the house he grew up in. He went to school around here and moved out when he was about 16 or 17.
“He worked for the health service – he told me so – but in what capacity I don’t know. I think one of his sisters also works for the NHS. They are a lovely family, it’s such a shock that Ali has been arrested for such a terrible thing.
“His mum and sisters helped my wife and I during lockdown, they went and got my shopping when I needed it and my medication.
“They’d do anything to help us. That’s why I can’t understand it all. I last saw Ali around Christmas. He was friendly, asked me how I was.”
Nice
The neighbour, who did not wish to be named, described Ali as “a tall lad with quite bushy hair”, adding: “I saw one of his sisters talking to police on Friday afternoon and I haven’t seen the family since. There were three police cars and some unmarked vehicles.”
Another local said: “The police were searching the house and the garage. The family have been here for more than 20 years and are very quiet but really nice, friendly people.The children didn’t play out much, they always tended to be inside studying.”
A fellow resident said: “We knew the family quite well as superficial neighbours. Very nice family, the mum was very, very nice. They’d say ‘Hello’ in the street, that kind of thing.
“A mother lives there with several boys. The youngest has got to be in his 20s. I never saw a father. They’ve been here for years – we’ve lived here for 20 years and they’ve been here longer than us.”
Police also searched Ali’s council house in Kentish Town, north London – 50 miles from the attack in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex – in a street of three-storey townhouses where properties sell for £2million.
One of his neighbours is the broadcaster Giles Coren. The late actor Roger Lloyd-Pack – Trigger in Only Fools and Horses – lived there too.
Officers carried gear including a ladder and lighting past a tent in the front garden while people in plain clothes took black cases from the house as police stood guard. It also emerged that Ali was referred to the Government’s anti-radicalisation initiative Prevent in recent years. It is thought he was not on the voluntary programme for very long. He was not investigated as a potentially active terrorist, nor was he on an MI5 subject of interest list, intelligence sources said. Anyone, including teachers and NHS officials, can refer someone to Prevent if they fear someone has extremist views that may lead to terrorism.
Ali’s father Harbi Ali Kullane, 61 – once a spokesman for the prime minister of Somalia – confirmed his son was in custody in connection with the murder of Sir David.
Mr Kullane is believed to live in Bounds Green, north London, and also in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
He said: “I’m feeling very traumatised. It’s not something that I expected or ever dreamt of.
Shock
“We are going through an unprecedented and horrific situation.”
A friend described Mr Kullane as a “friendly, educated” man who is in poor health. “He’s a keen Liverpool fan and sometimes I’ll go to his house to watch the matches.
“I haven’t had a chance to discuss all this with him since the news broke, but it will be a great shock to him and the family. They are such nice people.”
Ali is thought to have travelled by train to Leigh-on-Sea on Friday before Sir David was stabbed up to 17 times as he met constituents.
The suspect allegedly had
Islamist material on his phone. Police were last night trying to establish a precise motive for the killing. They do not believe anyone else was involved.
It is believed Ali may have once lived in Southend, Sir David’s constituency. One sister is said to live in the seaside town. John Lamb, a former mayor of Leigh-on-Sea, said that police were told of a threat against Sir David just days before he was killed.
It is not believed that was linked to his murder. Mr Lamb added: “It was rather upsetting and the police were alerted.”
The killing has outraged leaders of Somalis living in the UK.
The Council of Somali Organisations said in a statement: “We condemn the brutal murder of Sir David Amess MP.
“This was a senseless murder, which has shocked British communities across the country.
Champion
“We are shocked and saddened by the senseless violence perpetrated upon an innocent Member of Parliament. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sir David Amess’s family, loved ones and anyone who has been affected.”
An Iranian opposition group called Sir David a “human rights champion”. The National Council of Resistance of Iran laid flowers near the murder scene.