The deadly knife attack on Conservative MP David Amess has sparked dismay in Britain and a discussion about the safety of parliamentarians and the state of political culture in general. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Keir Starmer visited the crime scene in Essex on Saturday. They were accompanied by Speaker of Parliament Lindsay Hoyle and Minister of the Interior Priti Patel, who was particularly closely connected to Amess and who is now considering police protection for all MPs. On a handwritten card enclosed with Johnson's wreath, the Prime Minister praised the party veteran and father of five as an "excellent parliamentarian and beloved colleague and friend".

As the police confirmed, Amess had received a threat in the days before the attack, but it is not clear whether it came from the perpetrator.

In any case, the 69-year-old MP had not let himself be deterred and offered a citizens' consultation hour in a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday.

According to newspaper reports, the assassin, 25-year-old Ali Harbi A., had requested an appointment with Amess the week before.

When Ali Harbi A. was admitted, he stabbed the parliamentarian 17 times.

The witnesses had no hope that Amess could be helped later.

The perpetrator apparently remained calm at the scene until armed police arrived and took him away.

Investigation into suspected terrorism

At the weekend, Scotland Yard announced that it was investigating suspected terrorism; the motives could be rooted in Islamic extremism, it said. According to newspaper research, Ali Harbi A., an immigrant with a Somali background, was known to the authorities and had taken part in a state deradicalization measure a few years ago. His father, a former advisor to the Somali government, said he was surprised at his son's arrest over the weekend.

Ali Harbi A. was born in England and grew up with his father in a rather affluent neighborhood in north-west London. Just last month, London Police Commissioner Cressida Dick warned that the pandemic was promoting radicalization of individuals because terrorists were exploiting the social isolation of many people to spread conspiracy theories.

Why the assassin chose Amess as a target is unclear. Amess was a close to the people, strongly focused on his constituency, who had sat in the House of Commons since 1983. As a devout Catholic, he represented socially conservative positions and was passionate about animal welfare. The staunch Brexiteer was also a leading member of the parliamentary friendship group for Israel and a sharp critic of the Iranian regime; he had also taken part in demonstrations by the Iranian opposition.

For many, the gruesome act brings back memories of the assassination attempt on Labor MP Jo Cox, who was killed by a right-wing extremist five years ago during a citizens' clinic.

Even then - at the height of the Brexit campaign - there was discussion about the security of parliamentarians, but also about a heated political debate environment that lowers the inhibition threshold for extremist acts.

While the allegations hit the Brexiteers back then, the Labor Party is now in its sights.

Insulted as "racist and sexist scum"

In public, all parties stand together against the enemies of democracy. The opposition parties have already signaled that they will not put up any candidates for the upcoming by-election in the constituency of the person killed. But at least in conservative newspapers, fingers are pointed at the Labor Party, from whose ranks hateful remarks have flowed in the past. Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had publicly dreamed of a "situation" "in which no Tory can travel anywhere in the country or show its face in public without being challenged by direct action."

At the party conference in Brighton three weeks ago, Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner described Conservative Party members as “racist and sexist scum”.

Parliamentary President Hoyle wrote in a newspaper on Sunday: “The quality of political discourse must change.

The conversation needs to be more polite and be based on respect.

The hatred that drives these attacks must end. "