LONDON: A British judge on Wednesday sentenced a follower of the militant Islamic State group, Ali Harbi Ali, to a whole-life prison term for murdering lawmaker David Amess in a knife attack last year.

“This is a murder that struck at the heart of democracy,” judge Nigel Sweeney said as he handed down his sentence at London’s Old Bailey courthouse, noting the 26-year-old defendant had shown “no remorse or shame”.

Sweeney added he had no doubt it was an “exceptional case” that merited the sentence, which comes two days after a London jury unanimously found Ali guilty of the ferocious knife attack last October.

It was the second murder of a British MP in five years and prompted calls for better security for elected representatives. Wearing a black collarless robe and flanked by security guards, Ali pursed his lips briefly as the judge handed down his sentence.

He had told the trial that he had no regrets about killing father-of-five Amess in revenge for votes in parliament for air strikes in Syria in 2014 and 2015.

Ali stabbed Amess more than 20 times with a foot-long carving knife as the Conservative member of parliament met constituents in a church in Leigh-on-Sea, southeast England. The whole-life sentence means Ali will never be eligible for parole.

The far-right extremist who murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 is also serving a whole-life sentence.

In a statement following the sentencing, Amess’ family said it provided “no elation” and that nothing could ever compensate for the “appalling and violent manner” in which he was murdered. “We will struggle through each day for the rest of our lives,” it noted.

It breaks our heart to know that our husband and father would have greeted the murderer with a smile of friendship and would have been anxious to help.

“How sickening to think what happened next. It is beyond evil.” Amess was a long-serving member of parliament for the ruling Cons­ervative party, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the sentencing.

“We will never allow those who commit acts of evil to triumph over democracy,” Johnson said in a tweet.

Ali, from north London, arranged an appointment with Amess, 69, by telling the politician’s office that he was a healthcare worker and wished to talk about local issues.

Knife-wielding Ali was apprehended at the scene of the murder in a church by two police officers armed only with batons and spray.

He had sent a manifesto to family and friends to try to justify his actions around the time of the attack.

The court heard that Ali said “sorry” to Amess before killing him, after which his assistant Julie Cushion said he appeared “self-satisfied”.

Jurors were told Ali had no mental health issues and he accepted much of the evidence against him.

He became self-radicalised in 2014, going on to drop out of university, abandoning ambitions for a career in medicine.

Ali, who comes from a Somali family and said he had a childhood “full of love and care”, considered travelling to Syria to fight but opted instead for an attack in Britain.

He bought a knife six years ago which he carried in his bag throughout the summer of 2021 as he “scoped out” possible targets, jurors heard.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2022