The murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess is being treated as a terror incident.

Sir David, who represented Southend West in Essex, was stabbed several times on during a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea yesterday.

A 25-year-old man, believed to be a Briton with Somali heritage, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The Metropolitan Police said that the early investigation had revealed ‘a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism’.

The Met said the incident had formally been declared as terrorism by Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon.

The death of the 69-year-old veteran backbencher brought heartfelt tributes from all parties.

It comes just five years after the murder of Jo Cox and prompted renewed worries about the security risks for MPs in an increasingly polarised political era.

Police released an update in the early hours of Saturday, saying that they are not seeking anyone else in connection with Sir David’s death but inquiries are continuing.

Two properties were also being searched in London as part of the investigation, they added.

Earlier, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge added to a raft of touching nationwide tributes to the married father-of-five.

The royal couple said they were ‘shocked and saddened’ over his death and sent a message of sympathy to his family.

Sir David was an MP for almost 40 years, beginning his career representing Basildon from 1983, before representing Southend West from 1997.

He is remembered as a ‘true gent’ and animal lover with a devotion to his constituents in Southend.

He was socially conservative, an early Eurosceptic, and campaigned for animal rights and against fuel poverty. He also spent many years raising awareness of endometriosis after being approached by a constituent who suffered from the painful condition, and wanted Southend to become a city.

The 69-year-old is the second MP killed in their own constituency in little more than five years, following the 2016 murder of Labour’s Jo Cox.

His death comes just seven months after he asked Boris Johnson to crack down on knife crime following the fatal stabbing of a young man in his area. He had also previously spoken about the abuse MPs get.

Paramedics treated Amess at the scene, but were unable to save his life.

In a statement to the media outside Southend police station, the chief constable of Essex, Ben-Julian Harrington, said police and paramedics arrived at the scene ‘within minutes’ of being called.

‘When they arrived, they found Sir David Amess MP, who had suffered multiple injuries. This was a difficult incident, but our officers and paramedics worked extremely hard to save Sir David. Tragically, he died at the scene.’

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