CAROLINE ANSELL MP: Shock over death of Sir David Amess, yet his legacy lives

Sir David was a committed family man, a committed back bench MP and a man dedicated to public service in the House of Commons for nearly 40 years.

My heart goes out to his widow Julia and their five children.

I worked closely with Sir David on fire safety following the arson attack at Shinewater School a few years back. He led the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fire Safety and the campaign for design change in new build schools was, as always, very effective with him at the helm.

Sir David was also a kind man who thought of others. When I lost the election in 2017 he reached out to me and wrote the most beautiful letter which I now treasure even more.

The atmosphere in the House of Commons on Monday as MPs from all parties paid tribute to him was one of profound sadness and emotion. But it was also one resolute that his death will not be meaningless and that we must confront terror and hate.

This is the second killing of an MP in just over five years. I have received numerous death threats - one in 2017 even ended up with a man jailed. Such threats to politicians and other public figures are now commonplace – they shouldn’t be - but I remain committed to being an accessible MP because the relationship between MPs and those they represent is one of the founding rocks of our democracy and it must not be broken.

I regularly review my security and I speak to the police, who are committed to ensuring my safety and the safety of my hard working staff, who were also incredibly upset.

Of course, Eastbourne knows what it feels like to lose an MP in violent circumstances. Many fondly remember Ian Gow. His death at the hands of the IRA in 1990 still casts a shadow.

Thank you to all those who have written or called me over the last week.

Your kindness and concern mean a very great deal to me and to my family and my team.

On Eastbourne’s behalf, I have written to the Mayor of Southend to express our solidarity at such a time as this.

At this end of the month a Children’s Virtual Parliament powered by Microsoft will be held ahead of COP26.

650 child MPs, from primary schools across Britain, made up of children between seven and 11 years of age will be debating their views on a range of issues including climate change, the Covid-19 response and technology. Eastbourne and Willingdon’s representative is young Millie from Motcombe Primary School. I’m very looking forward to meeting her.

It says a great deal that this very initiative was championed and promoted by none other than Sir David, who contacted me and MPs across the country to get involved.

His legacy lives.