Dramatic bodycam footage shows moment police swoop on Sir David Amess murder suspect

24 March 2022, 17:26 | Updated: 24 March 2022, 17:33

Dramatic footage shows arrest of Sir David Amess murder suspect

This is the moment police arrest terror suspect Ali Harbi Ali after MP Sir David Amess was stabbed to death at his constituency surgery.

The jury at the Old Bailey was shown footage capturing the moment Ali Harbi Ali, 26, was arrested by two unarmed police officers.

Mr Ali denies the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess, 69, as he held a constituency surgery in a church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October 2021.

The footage shows two police officers approaching Belfairs Methodist Church in which Mr Ali is holding a knife, before forcing him to the ground and putting him in hand cuffs.

PC Scott James and PC Ryan Curtis, who heard on their radio of a stabbing at the church, were in plain clothes and were unarmed during the arrest.

Read More: Man accused of murdering Sir David Amess 'scoped out Michael Gove's home to plan attack'

The pair were told “he’s stabbed David. The man is still inside the church and he is brandishing a knife, waving it around. He will stab you if you go in, he will stab you.”

The footage starts by showing the two men waiting outside the church where the suspect was standing. It then shows them interacting with the suspect as they enter the church.

Throughout the video, the two police officers plead with the suspect to drop the knife, calling him “mate” and saying “please drop the knife".

An officer shouts: “Listen to me, listen to me. It’s only going to go one way. Just drop that knife. Please drop that knife for me.”

It took thirty seconds to detain Mr Ali with a baton and PAVA spray.

Once detained, one of the officers says that he's "under arrest for murder" and reads the suspect his rights.

Jurors previously heard Mr Ali spent years hatching his plot, researching a number of potential targets including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling on 69-year-old Tory backbencher, Sir David.

Mr Ali is accused of pretending to be a constituent in order to get a meeting with Mr Amess on the day of his murder.

Read More: Chilling CCTV footage shows terror suspect's 'journey to murder Sir David Amess'

Sir David was stabbed 21 times with a carving knife with a 12-inch blade. Mr Ali also sent a WhatsApp message apologising to his family and friends, attempting to justify his actions.

The court also heard how Mr Ali told police officers he had committed a "terror-related crime" and was shown further CCTV footage of the suspect travelling from his Kentish Town, north London, to Leigh-on-Sea on the day of the murder.

The trial continues.