Sir David Amess: NI leaders pay tributes to murdered MP

Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers have led tributes at Stormont to the Conservative MP Sir David Amess who was killed last week.

First Minister Paul Givan described him as a political "giant" at Westminster and a "tireless" backbencher who was a good friend of the DUP and the union.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill expressed sympathy to his family.

She said no politician "should face any attack when carrying out work on behalf of their constituency".

Ms O'Neill also highlighted the abuse she and other Northern Ireland assembly members (MLAs) have been subjected to on a daily basis.

She also revealed that she once had to "physically remove an uninvited person from her home".

Mr Givan also warned about the rise in abuse being directed at public representatives both online and also in the media.

In his tribute to Mr Amess, he singled out the MP's work in helping migrants working in his constituency.

MLAs from across the chamber joined the tribute to Sir David and also called for an end to the abuse of public representatives.

Sir David was stabbed at his constituency surgery in Essex on Friday.

Politicians in Northern Ireland have been contacted by police about their security following the attack.

Earlier, a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer who survived two murder bids described Sir David's murder as "an attack on democracy, not just an individual".

Lord Dodds said there was determination across the political spectrum "to carry on".

The peer is a former deputy leader of the DUP who served as MP for North Belfast from 2001 to 2019.

In 1996, Lord Dodds, then a Belfast councillor, and his wife, DUP assembly member Diane Dodds, both escaped injury in a gun attack.

The couple were visiting their ill son in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital when the IRA shot and wounded their police bodyguard.

Seven years later, dissident republicans left a bomb outside the former DUP deputy leader's constituency office.

Lord Dodds said that following Sir David's murder, politicians from across the United Kingdom will be thinking: "There by the grace of God, it could've been me."

"Because it appears completely random," he said.

"Why was it Jo Cox, why was it David Amess? Many hundreds of MPs hold constituency surgeries, particularly on Fridays and at weekends.

"This is an attack on democracy, not just an individual - people trying to silence and shut down political opinion and debate, democracy in the United Kingdom."

But he said that "there is a determination across the political spectrum to carry on and not let these people win".

The former DUP MP also called for a social media crackdown on online trolls.

He said that politicians, in particular females, are "abused on a daily basis" on social media.

"We've seen people attacked before on social media but it has got a lot worse and social media companies have to take responsibility and stop these anonymous trolls that whip up hate and hysteria," Lord Dodds told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"There needs to be a greater condemnation across the board from political spectrum, especially from those who seek to eulogise terrorism at times.

"Because of social media, there is a lot more known about elected representatives, about their movements, their appointments.

"MPs want to reach out to their constituents through social media, but it does have its drawbacks."