MPs gather to pay tribute to Sir David Amess

Boris Johnson announced this afternoon that Southend will receive city status as a tribute to the campaigning work of Sir David Amess, who was killed. Sir David’s best known Commons contributing was Inserting Southend’s bid to become a city into any question, no matter how tenuous, and it seemed an inevitable way of the government marking his death.

MPs paying their respects to the Southend West MP have all focused on his dedication to his constituency, but also on his kindness. Johnson told the chamber that ‘he was… one of the nicest, kindest, and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches’. Everyone mentioned his smile and his sense of humour. The way he conducted himself had made an impression on MPs across the House: a particularly passionate tribute came from from the Labour MP Mike Kane, who spoke about the way Amess’s politics had been driven by his Catholic faith. Keir Starmer also highlighted the way that ‘David held his beliefs passionately but gently’, adding: ‘I believe that not only can we learn from that but that we have a duty to do so.’