Amess family ‘deeply hurt' after Home Secretary letter following Prevent review
He also said the family were given 'next to no notice' of the timing or advance sight of the report, adding media leaks were a further insult to the family.
The Amess family have said they will respond in full to the report once they have consulted their legal team.
In her written statement laid before Parliament, Ms Cooper said: 'My department remains steadfast in its commitment to keeping the public safe and safeguarding people at risk of radicalisation.
'The victims, their families and those who survived the Southport attack but continue to live with the physical and emotional pain, and Sir David Amess's family remain in our hearts and prayers.'
In his review, Independent Prevent Commissioner David Anderson KC said 'intensive' efforts have been made to improve Prevent processes, but the 'jury is out' on some of the changes
In the Home Secretary's letter, seen by the PA news agency, Ms Cooper said she realises the 'seriousness' of the failings in Sir David's case and that she hoped the family found Lord Anderson's report to be 'thorough and considered'.
Sir David's terrorist killer Ali Harbi Ali was referred to Prevent seven years before the so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex in October 2021.
He was sentenced to a whole-life order the following year.
In her letter, Ms Cooper said Lord Anderson had 'conducted an incisive analysis of the perpetrator's case management, the findings of the Prevent Learning Review and the impact of changes made since then'.
She added: 'I realise the seriousness of these failings and it reflects the deep concerns you have long held about what went wrong.
'Lord Anderson acknowledges improvements made to Prevent since then but also identifies further important opportunities for change in the wider Prevent system.'
Her letter added: 'My determination to make whatever changes are considered necessary is unflinching and a further formal Government response to Lord Anderson's report will follow in the autumn.
'However, I want to be clear that it is without question that where recommendations can be implemented immediately, I will ensure that these are delivered.'
Mr Seiger told PA the letter had left the family 'retraumatised, blindsided and feeling marginalised'.
He said: 'This is an absolutely appalling letter from the Home Secretary who frankly should know better than to insult the family in this way.
'They are deeply hurt and angered, by the utterly dismissive tone as well as the timing of the Home Secretary's letter accompanying the publication of Lord Anderson KC's report.
'It is difficult to see it as anything other than a calculated exercise in damage limitation, designed not to support the family in their search for answers but to protect the Government following its failings.
'Yet again, we see victims being kicked when they are down.
'This supposed act of courtesy has left the family retraumatised, blindsided, and feeling marginalised in a process that should have had their voices and wellbeing at its heart from the outset.
'The Prime Minister and Home Secretary must understand that a piecemeal approach, which is what they are taking, however well-dressed in public relations, will never deliver the whole truth, accountability and justice for Sir David.'
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September
July 27 (Reuters) - Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral commission told state news agency SANA on Sunday. Voting for the 210-member People's Assembly is scheduled to take place between September 15 and 20, said Mohamed Taha, who is overseeing the electoral process. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has received a draft electoral law that amends a previous decree and raises the number of seats from 150 to 210. A third of the seats will be appointed by the president. The government has pledged broad representation and said it will allow foreign observers to monitor electoral committees overseeing the vote. Officials said areas outside government control, including Kurdish-held regions in northern Syria and the Druze-majority province of Sweida, would continue to have seats allocated based on population. The new assembly is expected to lay the groundwork for a broader democratic process, which critics say currently lacks sufficient participation from minority groups. It will also be tasked with approving landmark legislation aimed at overhauling decades of state-controlled economic policies and ratifying treaties that could reshape Syria's foreign policy alliances. In March, Syria issued a constitutional declaration to guide the interim period under Sharaa's leadership. The document preserves a central role for Islamic law while guaranteeing women's rights and freedom of expression. It raised concerns of civic groups and Western nations about the concentration of power among the country's Islamist-led leadership.
South Wales Guardian
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Death toll rises after attack on church in east Congo church
The incident took place in the place of worship in Komanda, Ituri province. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator, said: 'The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church.' At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani, where a search is ongoing. 'They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,' Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told reporters. Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with guns and machetes. The military has confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the total death toll at more than 40. Mr Duranthabo said attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1am. Several houses and shops were also burnt. Lt Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 were killed in the church attack. Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock. A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around seven miles from the centre of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive. Mr Duranthabo condemned the attack 'in a town where all the security officials are present'. He added: 'We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.' Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the so-called Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath. The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighbouring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
Glasgow Times
30 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Death toll rises after attack on church in east Congo church
The incident took place in the place of worship in Komanda, Ituri province. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator, said: 'The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church.' At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani, where a search is ongoing. 'They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,' Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told reporters. Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with guns and machetes. The military has confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the total death toll at more than 40. Mr Duranthabo said attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1am. Several houses and shops were also burnt. Lt Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 were killed in the church attack. Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock. A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around seven miles from the centre of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive. Mr Duranthabo condemned the attack 'in a town where all the security officials are present'. He added: 'We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.' Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the so-called Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath. The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighbouring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
