Friends fear Amess was targeted because he was a devout Catholic

FRIENDS and constituents of Sir David Amess fear he was targeted because of his Catholic faith.

The Conservative MP was a practising Roman Catholic who regularly attended his local St Peter’s Catholic Church.

Tributes to the politician were led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. Yesterday, Douglas Cracknell, chairman of Leigh-on-Sea council, said Sir David’s devout faith was well-known to locals, who told The Mail on Sunday they feared it could have provided the motive for his murder. Mr Cracknell said: ‘Everyone knew about David’s Catholic faith – it was a big part of his character. He was a very generous man and was very helpful to us. This attacker may well have targeted him over his religion.’

John Moore, 45, who knew Sir David as his local MP, said: ‘People here are saying it could have been linked to David’s Catholicism. He was such an advocate for his religion, so a terrorist would want to take him out, wouldn’t they? It’s just so sad. You couldn’t meet a nicer man. We all admired him so much.’

During a homily at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Father Jeff Woolnough paid his respects to his late parishioner.

He said: ‘Firstly we remember David’s great faith and as a Catholic his practising sense of that faith. What that means is sharing that faith with everyone he meets, no matter who they are. That’s by being him, showing that great accessibility to all faiths when we are under attack by everyone who doesn’t understand the position the Catholic Church takes in the world. We are particularly grateful for Sir David’s stance on pro-life. David chose life, even in death, because we now know he is alive in the Spirit.’