"After several Covid-induced delays, the wheels of British justice have now turned and Ali Harbi Ali has finally been found guilty of the brutal and senseless murder of Sir David Amess MP. My thoughts are very much with his widow Lady Julia and her five children today.

David was my best friend in Parliament, the 'best bloke I ever knew' and I still miss him greatly. I nevertheless welcome the verdict and the associated whole-life tariff, which will give this convicted terrorist a very long opportunity to reflect on what he did.

I know that the New Testament urges us to turn the other cheek but, having heard Ali Harbi Ali’s so-called 'defence', I must confess my thoughts towards him today are rather more Old Testament than New. This man has now had his fifteen minutes in the spotlight, but he can never take away Sir David's lifetime of remarkable achievements as an exemplary constituency MP - including that Southend will now be a City, forever, so it was really David Amess who won in the end."