Law enforcement officials stand guard on the scene of the deadly stabbing of Conservative British lawmaker David Amess, at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, a district of Southend-on-Sea, in southeast England on October 16, 2021. - The deadly stabbing of British lawmaker David Amess used to be a terrorist incident, police stated Saturday, as MPs pressed for harder safety within the wake of the second one killing of a U.Okay. flesh presser whilst assembly constituents in simply over 5 years. | TOLGA AKMEN/AFP by means of Getty Photographs

Surprised via the dying of Conservative British Parliamentarian Sir. David Amess after he used to be stabbed a couple of occasions at a church Friday, the rustic's Christian leaders are reacting to what U.Okay. government are calling a terrorist assault.

Police within the district of Essex, northeast of London and the place the 69-year-old lawmaker used to be killed, stated a 25-year-old guy has been arrested and that the preliminary investigation suggests Islamist extremism as a imaginable cause for the assault, The Wall Side road Magazine reported.

Amess, who used to be married with 5 kids and used to be recognized for his socially conservative viewpoints and pro-life stance towards abortion, attended a public assembly for his "constituency surgical treatment" at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea when the assault passed off. 

Within the U.Okay., constituency surgical procedures are face-to-face conferences that officeholders have with their constituents.

In keeping with stories, he used to be brutally stabbed a number of occasions and later died regardless of paramedics making an attempt to save lots of him for 2 hours.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols stated he used to be "surprised and saddened" via the incident, Crux Now reported.

"This dying throws a pointy gentle onto the truth that our Participants of Parliament are servants of the folk, to be had to other people of their want, particularly of their constituencies," he stated. "This horrific assault, as David used to be enterprise his constituency surgical treatment, is an assault on our democratic procedure and traditions."

The cardinal added that the lawmaker "performed his vocation as a Catholic in public existence with generosity and integrity," and identified that he used to be "revered via all political events around the Area."

Archbishop Justin Welby additionally issued a commentary, pronouncing he used to be "actually devastated."

"The homicide of an MP, at some stage in taking good care of their constituents, is a deep blow to this nation, its voters and everybody who needs a relaxed and flourishing democracy," he added.

He additional famous that Amess' "deep religion fuelled his sense of justice" and Britain used to be "the entire poorer" now.

"The one antidote to violence and hatred is love and harmony," he endured. "On this horrific and tragic second we will have to come in combination, throughout political distinction, and be the sunshine that refuses to be cowed via darkness."

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, stated in a commentary: "I had the good honor of calling David Amess a pal when I used to be Bishop of Chelmsford." 

"He used to be the MP for the constituency the place I grew up, and no longer simplest did he at all times faithfully serve the ones other people and that position, however had a specific worry for the Christian group born of his personal deeply held Christian religion as a member of the Roman Catholic group."

Reacting to the MP's dying, High Minister Boris Johnson stated he used to be "one of the vital kindest, nicest, maximum delicate other people in politics," in step with Reuters.

Johnson endured, "David used to be a person who believed passionately on this nation and in its long run and we've misplaced as of late a wonderful public servant and a much-loved pal and colleague and our ideas are very a lot as of late along with his spouse, his kids and his circle of relatives."

Amess isn't the primary member of Parliament to be murdered whilst attending a constituency assembly.

Helen Joanne Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen who took place of work in Would possibly 2015, used to be murdered in June 2016 whilst she used to be provide at a constituency surgical treatment. Prosecutors deemed the slaying to be associated with "political and/or ideological causes."