The terror suspect arrested following the killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess is the son of a former senior Somali government official, Sky News understands.
Ali Harbi Ali’s father, Harbi Ali Kullane, declined to comment when asked by Sky News about his son, a 25-year-old British national, in an exchange of written messages on Saturday other than to say that he was “traumatised”
A Sky News correspondent who knocked at an address in London where he is believed to be staying received no reply on Sunday morning.
Sir David Amess killing – live updates
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Sir David Amess: A life in politics
However, two police officers then arrived at the property and were let inside.
The father was quoted in The Sunday Times as confirming that his son was in custody and saying: “I’m not OK. I’m traumatised… This is nothing to do with my work for the Somali government.”
Mr Kullane previously worked as director of communications at the office of the prime minister in Somalia.
But he is thought to have been living in the UK for the past three years.
He has an active profile on social media, with his Twitter feed showing a keen interest in the UK, including posts on Liverpool Football Club, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and Brexit.
The father also posted messages of sympathy in June 2016 following the murder of Labour MP, Jo Cox, writing: “#RIPJoCox devastated by the loss of a voice of the unrepresentative, my sympathies with her two children and family.”
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Priti Patel: ‘We need to close any security gaps’
He appeared to have good relations with the British embassy in Somalia.
A number of his tweets included photographs with British diplomats in Mogadishu.
Ali Harbi Ali was arrested on Friday at the scene of the attack at a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where Sir David, MP for Southend West, had been holding his weekly constituency surgery.
He was previously referred to the government’s Prevent scheme, which is a programme to stop radicalisation, a Whitehall source said.
However, he is not thought to have been on the radar of the security service, MI5.
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Leaders unite to pay tribute to Sir David
He was initially arrested on suspicion on murder and has since been detained under terrorism legislation.
Scotland Yard said the suspect who has not been officially named, has been transferred from a police station in Essex to one in London for further questioning.
Detectives have been granted a warrant to further detain him until next Friday.
Investigators have said they are not seeking anyone else in connection with Sir David’s death, which has sparked a debate about MPs’ safety and if more should be done to protect them.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has told Sky News that MPs could be given police protection while they carry out constituency surgeries.
Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday, the cabinet minister also did not did not rule out banning anonymity on social media in a bid to tackle “relentless” online abuse.
A statement of condolence signed by many Somali organisations and community leaders have said they were “shocked and saddened by the senseless violence perpetrated upon an innocent MP”.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were among those to express “shock and sadness” following Sir David’s death.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attended the scene of the killing together on Saturday to pay their respects.
The father of five had been an MP for 38 years, and while he never held a ministerial role, he was known as a tireless constituency campaigner, including his long-standing bid to have Southend designated a city.
Sky News understands that Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party will not stand candidates to contest the Southend West by-election.
It follows the precedent set after the murder of Mrs Cox in 2016, when Labour’s Tracy Brabin was the only mainstream candidate.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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