Sir David Amess: Southend West MP’s daughter carrying on her father’s legacy

The daughter of an Essex MP who was killed while meeting his constituents is carrying on his legacy to champion democracy by throwing her weight behind a children’s parliament scheme.

Katie Amess, the daughter of Sir David Amess, has accepted a patronage of the Children’s Parliament, set up by a school head from Leigh-on-Sea, which was championed by her father.

Sir David was tragically stabbed to death at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea this year on October 15.

Read more:The latest breaking news from the Southend area

His death sent shockwaves across the UK with hundreds of people paying tribute and leaving flowers.

Katie Amess is now backing the children’s parliament scheme in her father’s honour, which is headed up by Peter Spencer-Lane, headteacher of Saint Pierre School in Leigh.

Katie is set to hand a report from meetings of the virtual parliament to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the new year.

The idea came from Wakelet, a digital platform for teachers and students to share and organise learning content online.

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On Monday December 13, at the Saint Pierre Carol Service, Katie awarded Sir David’s Child MP match, Lola Hillgrove, 11, with the inaugural “Sir David Amess Award for The Environment”.

Katie, 36, who works as an actress, said: “Like my father, I would like to see democracy and parliamentary process taught in schools.

“This is an incredible initiative, whereby children of primary school age can discuss adult issues and send their views directly to the heart of the British Parliament.

“From the absolute tragedy of my father’s death, we must ensure that democracy and freedom of speech prevail. Whilst I am an actress and not a politician, I am so proud to be a part of this initiative and in his memory, will do all I possibly can to ensure its success.”

David Amess, late MP for Southend West in Essex, outside the Houses of Parliament

Sir David was due to co-host the largest ever virtual gathering of primary school students worldwide on October 29 – The Wakelet Microsoft 365 Children’s Parliament. David Davis MP standing in following his death.

A total of 270 children from Penzance, Edinburgh, London and Manchester, gathered across Britain to discuss Climate Change, Covid-19 response and technology in a 1.5 hour session online.

The previous record for a virtual children’s parliament was in Malaysia with a July 2020, which saw 222 young people represent the federal seats in Malaysia.

In January 2022, Katie will join Mr Spencer-Lane in meeting Boris Johnson. She will be joined by David Davis MP, and will hand Mr Johnson a report from the virtual event.

Ali Harbi Ali, 25, from London, is set to stand trial for Sir David Amess’ murder in March 2022.

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