Sir David Amess: Boris Johnson leads tributes to much-loved MP

Tributes have been pouring in to Conservative MP Sir David Amess, who has died after being stabbed in his constituency in Essex.

Boris Johnson - who laid flowers at the scene on Saturday - said he was one of the "one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics".

Labour's Sir Keir Starmer, who went to Essex with the PM, hailed Sir David's "profound sense of public duty".

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was a "bright light of Parliament".

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said they were "shocked and saddened" by the death of Sir David, who "dedicated 40 years of his life to serving his community".

Sir David was stabbed whilst holding a constituency surgery, where voters can meet their local MP and discuss concerns.

A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. Police are treating the killing as a terrorist incident.

A Conservative backbencher for nearly 40 years, Sir David entered Parliament as the MP for Basildon following the 1983 general election.

He switched seats in 1997, when he was elected MP for nearby Southend West - the Essex constituency he represented until his death.

His constituents have spoken of their shock at his killing, with residents choking back tears as they spilled on to the streets after his death.

Father Jeff Woolnough - a parish priest in Sir David's constituency said the MP had "that great ability to communicate at all different levels".

"Through that wonderful smile he could placate and just settle an awkward discussion very quickly - it is a great gift."

Conservative councillor Kevin Buck said the MP had "died doing what he loved - meeting the people and helping the people".

Speaking to BBC Essex, Judith Canham, the former deputy chair of the Southend West Conservative Association, said Sir David had a "photographic memory".

"Sometimes I'd be out canvassing with him and he'd see someone he hadn't seen for a long time and he'd say 'how was your hip operation?'."

David Stanley - founder of the children's disability charity the Music Man project which Sir David supported - said his friend "loved grand ideas and coming up with amazing statements".

"We were going to conquer Broadway, we were going to break a world record - which we later did at the Palladium," he said referring to the time the charity performed the largest ever triangle ensemble.

Virginia Lewis-Jones, the daughter of Dame Vera Lynn, says Sir David was a passionate supporter of a proposed memorial to the late singer.

She said he would "grab it like a terrier" when he committed himself to campaigning on any issue.

Fellow Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said Sir David was his "oldest friend" in Parliament, and he felt "sick inside at what has happened".

"We've all lost a very special person in our lives," he added.

Labour MP Harriet Harman entered the House of Commons in 1982, one year before Sir David and remembers it as a "polarised" time.

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, she said had been "determined not to have friendly relations with any Conservative MPs, but it was impossible to sustain that with David Amess because he was so friendly and so determined to work with MPs on other causes".

Mr Johnson said Sir David was "a fine public servant and a much loved friend and colleague" who "believed passionately in this country".

The PM also praised his "outstanding record" of campaigning in Parliament, where he was known for his activism on animal welfare.

Mr Johnson's predecessor Theresa May said his death was "heartbreaking" and a "tragic day for our democracy".

She added that Sir David was a "decent man and respected parliamentarian, killed in his own community while carrying out his public duties".

Former prime minister David Cameron called Sir David a "thoroughly decent man" and "the most committed MP you could ever hope to meet".

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay said Sir David had built a "built a reputation for kindness and generosity" during his decades-long career as an MP.

Sir Lindsay confirmed that MPs would be given time to pay tribute to Sir David in the Commons, when they return from recess on Monday.

His predecessor as speaker, John Bercow, said Sir David was a "wonderful loving human being" and "quintessentially a constituency parliamentarian".

"He could talk to and hear from and engage with anybody, from a monarch to the local milk person," he added.

Sir David is the second MP to be killed in the past five years, following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016.

She was killed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery.

Jo Cox's sister Kim Leadbeater, who is now the Labour MP for the Batley seat she represented, said she was "totally shocked to think that something so horrific could happen again to another MP and family".

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Sir David was a "thoroughly decent man, who was well-liked across parties and the House of Commons."