A "COMMITTED terrorist" beamed at children and mums as he travelled to Essex to "assassinate" a Tory grandee, a court has heard.

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, chatted casually with a police officer and patiently helped a commuter with directions shortly before he allegedly stabbed Sir David Amess 21 times with a 12-inch blade.

Prosecutors claim the defendant had initially staked out Michael Gove's home before setting his sights on dad-of-five Sir David.

It's alleged he made an appointment with the MP as Sir David hosted a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea on October 15, posing as a healthcare worker before launching an attack.

Ali denies murder and preparing acts of terrorism.

But prosecutors allege he'd been planning an atrocity based on his "warped, twisted and violent ideology" for five years – and had also considered other high-profile targets, including Mr Gove and MP Mike Freer.

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Today, jurors at the Old Bailey were shown chilling CCTV which purportedly shows Ali on his way to kill Sir David.

The defendant reportedly travelled two-and-a-half hours from his home in north London before arriving at Belfairs Methodist Church in a long khaki coat and backpack.

During his journey, he stopped to help a fellow passenger at Barking station for more than a minute, it's claimed.

He was also seen smiling at babies with their mothers.

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He let an older woman in a face mask and a mum pushing two little ones in a buggy go ahead of him onto station platforms, it was said.

Ali also beamed at a security guard who patted him on the arm and let him walk through a barrier when his ticket wouldn't swipe.

However, upon his arrival in Essex, it's alleged he spent 25 minutes lying in wait yards from the church.

Once inside, he chatted briefly with Sir David before turning the conversation to the war in Iraq, it's claimed.

An alert sounded on his phone, and as the noise rang out, he said "sorry" to Sir David before stabbing him repeatedly, it was heard.

SCENE OF HORROR

Sir David, an MP since 1983, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem found he had suffered 21 stab wounds to his face, arms, legs and torso, as well as injuries to both hands that were consistent with defending himself.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC said Ali had committed an "assassination for terrorist purposes" – adding: “He is a committed, fanatical Islamist terrorist.”

Ali allegedly wanted to be shot by police and die a "hero".

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It's claimed that days before Sir David's death, the defendant searched through a webpage on an Islamic Q&A forum entitled: "What should a person do if they think their death is approaching?

The trial continues.

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