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Murdered MP Sir David Amess had recently written about the risk of attacks on parliamentarians, admitting “it could happen to any of us”.

His book, Ayes & Ears: A Survivor’s Guide to Westminster, was published in November and was nominated for the Parliamentary Book Awards.

The fatal stabbing of Sir David on Friday afternoon during a surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea has been declared by police a terrorist incident.

Forensic police were investigating the scene at the church
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Forensic police were investigating the scene at the church

In the book, the member of parliament for Southend West wrote about the terror-related murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and how she had been attacked “in the most barbaric fashion imaginable”.

He said attacks such as that on Ms Cox had “spoilt the great British tradition” of the voters meeting politicians.

Since Sir David’s killing, Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked all police forces to immediately review security arrangements for MPs.

Another attack he mentioned was that on his colleague Nigel Jones, in 2000, in which Mr Jones’ aide Andy Pennington died trying to protect him.

More on Sir David Amess

While writing he had been on the receiving end of “nuisance from the odd member of the general public”, he admitted most MPs had changed the way they mixed with voters, and that Commons authorities took the threats to members very seriously.

Sir David wrote that MPs were issued with advice on safety for themselves and their families.

On the attack on Mr Jones, Sir David said: “We all make ourselves readily available to our constituents and are often dealing with members of the public who have mental health problems, it could happen to any of us.”

About security, he wrote: “We regularly check our locks and many others have CCTV cameras installed but probably the most significant change has been with constituency surgeries.

“The British tradition has always been that members of parliament regularly make themselves available for constituents to meet them face to face at their surgeries.

“Now advice has been given to be more careful when accepting appointments.

Britain's MP Sir David Amess attends a Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, in London, Britain January 15, 2020. ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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Sir David during a parliamentary session in 2020. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor via Reuters

“We are advised to never see people alone, we must be extra careful when opening post and we must ensure that our offices are properly safe and secure.

“In short, these increasing attacks have rather spoilt the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians.”

Sir David also said he was frequently abused online, and how easy it was for “ignorant cowards” to remain anonymous.

He said: “The law in this regard needs to be changed and updated as a matter of urgency.”

He was seen at a number of book signings in the last year promoting the work, the royalties of which went to a number of his favourite causes.

The book was also promoted by his local library service when it became available.

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‘Scam of all scams’: Crypto dev claims Trump-linked WLFI ‘stole’ his money

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‘Scam of all scams’: Crypto dev claims Trump-linked WLFI ‘stole’ his money

‘Scam of all scams’: Crypto dev claims Trump-linked WLFI ‘stole’ his money

A crypto developer says Trump-linked crypto project WLFI froze his tokens and refused to unlock them, calling it “the new age mafia.”

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Farage confirms he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to Taliban in Afghanistan

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Farage confirms he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to Taliban in Afghanistan

Nigel Farage has confirmed he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he becomes prime minister.

The Reform UK leader’s position on the topic has not been clear, with him previously saying he would send women back to the fundamentalist regime that took over after western militaries withdrew, before now saying he would.

Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.

Politics live: Govt responds to Farage wanting early election

When asked if he would “detain” women and children and “send them back”, the Clacton MP said “yes”.

Challenged on when he said in August that he was not “discussing” women and children, Mr Farage claimed this was a reference to his desire to seeing men detained on arrival in the UK.

At the time he said he was “very, very clear” on the “deportation of illegal immigrants”, adding: “We are not even discussing women and children at this stage – there are so many illegal males in Britain, and the news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong”

More on Migrant Crossings

Speaking today, Mr Farage claimed that the UK has a “duty of care” if a four-year-old arrives in a dinghy, for example – but not so for women and men.

“For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women,” Mr Farage went on.

“Children, we’ll have to think about.”

The Reform leader also rowed back on his pledge to stop all boats within two weeks if he is elected prime minister.

Speaking to the conference yesterday, Mr Farage said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”

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Watch Farage face questions on his tax affairs

But speaking to Beth Rigby today, he changed tack – saying “the passing of legislation” would be required.

He said the boats would then be stopped within two weeks, or sooner.

In the interview with Rigby, Mr Farage tried to claim he did not say he would end the boats within two weeks of “winning government”.

But the video of his speech, as well as the transcript released by Reform UK, clearly show him saying: “We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”

When asked why he wouldn’t be able to stop the boats within two weeks of winning government, Mr Farage said it was impossible and “no one” can prevent them crossing the Channel.

The Reform UK leader said the law he wants to introduce will be called the Illegal Migration Act once it is passed by parliament.

He confirmed his agenda includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, shutting down asylum hotels and housing people at RAF bases instead, as well as deporting Channel migrants.

Mr Farage also claimed that deportation flights would also begin within two weeks of the law changing, and this combination of factors would stop people from wanting to travel from France.

This strategy all depends on Reform UK winning the next general election – which Labour does not have to call until 2029.

However, Mr Farage says he believes the government will collapse in 2027 due to economic pressure and other factors.

Reform are currently well clear of Labour and the Conservatives in the polling, and are targeting next year’s Welsh, Scottish and English local election to try and win more power in councils and national assemblies.

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Senate crypto bill adds clause to keep tokenized stocks as securities

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Senate crypto bill adds clause to keep tokenized stocks as securities

Senate crypto bill adds clause to keep tokenized stocks as securities

The US Senate has added a provision to its crypto bill confirming that tokenized stocks remain securities, preserving their fit within existing financial frameworks.

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