UK arrests pro-Palestinian activist for spitting on statue of British MP murdered in terror attack

Essex Police arrested a man in his 30s in Westcliff-on-Sea on Friday after a TikTok video showed someone spitting on a statue of murdered British MP Sir David Amess. Police opened an investigation after a report on Wednesday; the BBC reported the man was questioned on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offense and remained in custody. The video, now deleted, showed the person criticizing Amess for voting for the Iraq War. The Amess family and former Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the act.

Essex Police arrested a man in his 30s in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, on Friday, after a TikTok video showed someone spitting on a statue of the murdered British lawmaker Sir David Amess, according to multiple news outlets. Police said they received a report about the video on Wednesday and opened an investigation. The BBC reported that officers questioned the man on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offense, and that he remained in custody. In the now-deleted video, a person approaches the statue and says, "These people were just bowing to this p----. He voted for the Iraq War. Shame." A second clip shows a person pointing at the monument, saying "shame," and spitting in the statue's face. The TikTok user, who goes by the name "Angry Jesus," initially denied being the person in the footage: "It wasn't me who spat on Sir David. But if I catch the person who did it, I'll… #grrrrrr," he wrote in the video's caption, The Telegraph reported. The Telegraph added that other videos on the account criticized Israel and expressed pro-Palestinian views. Amess, a Conservative MP under former prime minister Boris Johnson, was murdered in 2021 by Ali Harbi Ali, the son of a former media adviser to a Somali prime minister. Police classified the killing as a terrorist attack. A spokesperson for the Amess family condemned the video, saying, "To see his memorial treated in this way is deeply upsetting," according to the BBC. Dame Priti Patel, the MP for Witham and former UK home secretary, also condemned the footage in a post on X, calling on Essex Police to investigate the "disgusting and offensive act." She wrote that Amess "was respectful, kind and a powerful advocate for free speech and expression" and that "to disrespect his life and legacy in this way is dreadful."