Condolences offered as British MP dies after being stabbed at constituency meeting

A serving British Member of Parliament, David Amess MP, has died on Friday after being stabbed during a constituency meeting, various local news outlets have reported. 

The 69-year-old Conservative had been an MP since 1983 and represented Southend West in Essex since 1997. 

Amess was also a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia in the House of Commons. 

The group was set up in March 2017 following a visit from Raül Romeva, Catalonia’s then-foreign affairs minister, to discuss matters relating to Catalonia’s independence push. 

Supportive of the All-Party parliamentary group and well informed about Catalonia

Talking to Catalan News on Friday evening, the APPG on Catalonia said not only them, but also "Sir David's many Catalan friends" will miss him. 

"Sir David was very supportive of the APPG and was well informed about Catalonia and, indeed Spain. He attended our meetings, signed motions and was present to meet our distinguished guests from Catalonia," added the parliamentary group. 

In the buildup to the 2017 referendum, the working group sent a letter to the then-Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, expressing their “concern” over the prosecution of former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell “for simply permitting the debate” on independence in the chamber.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group also said in January 2019 that there was "a great deal of concern" in Westminster over the trial of former independence leaders that ultimately saw nine convicted to prison sentences of up to 11 years, only to be pardoned earlier this year. 

A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of Amess. The killing is the second of a serving MP in Britain in the past five years, after Labour’s Jo Cox was murdered in 2016. 

Various figures in Catalan politics have expressed their condolences upon hearing the news, including Catalonia's foreign minister, Victòria Alsina, and ex-president, Carles Puigdemont. 

Horrified by the murder of David Amess MP. He was a good friend of Catalonia @APPGCatalonia

The Government of Catalonia sends condolences to his family and friends and condemns all sorts of violence @trussliz

— Victòria Alsina Burgués (@_VictoriaAlsina) October 15, 2021

It is with great sadness that I learnt the killing of Sir David Amess MP, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia @APPGCatalonia. My thoughts are with his family and friends in these difficult and painful moments.

— Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) October 15, 2021

Our thoughts are with Sir David Amess MP, a member of the APPG on Catalonia, and with his family and staff. We hope he recovers from this dreadful attack.

— APPG on Catalonia (@APPGCatalonia) October 15, 2021