After the Met this weekend confirm that it believ Islamist extremism for a motive was a factor, Dominic Kenny, Fiona Hamilton and Jane Flanagan report in today’s Times that police are investigating whether Amess’ close links to the Gulf state of Qatar could have been a potential motivation. The paper details the remarkable political family connections of Ali Harbi Ali, the man arrest for Amess’ murder, who is the son of a former prime ministerial adviser in Somalia. Ali’s uncle is Somalia’s ambassador rcs data to China, and his aunt runs a security think tank in Mogadishu. Though a Whitehall source stresses: “A specific, clear reason on why he was target has not been establish.”
Alternatively: In today’s Telegraph Rob Mendick for a motive
Martin Evans and Ben Riley-Smith say Ali is believ to have consider killing other MPs, suggesting Amess was not necessarily target for a personal reason, rather that his killer had want to attack a national politician. The paper has sources saying Ali was seen using his phone moments after the murder, although it’s unclear whether he was recording a message or speaking to a third party. It also notes his father work to counter the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia. The Mail says MI5 is “mystifi” as to why Ali target Amess, and suggests he was referr to a deradicalization course organiz by the government’s Prevent program after a breakdown in relations with his parents.
Pictur: The Sun has got the first photo of Ali
It quotes former friends saying he was radicaliz by online videos of hate preacher Anjem Choudary.
Discourse latest: Friday’s events have spark debates among politicians global seo work on three subjects: the effectiveness of Britain’s counter-extremism policies, the protection of MPs, and on online abuse and anonymity on social mia. The third of these is slightly curious — while trolling and online anonymity are doubtlessly important issues, there is no suggestion default channel grouping whatsoever they were a factor in the Amess case, where the police have said the killer appears to be an Islamist extremist. Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy also made the important point on broadcast yesterday that any limits plac on anonymous accounts would have to protect pro-democracy protesters and whistleblowers.
