The Home Secretary is facing fury from the family of David Amess after rejected calls for a pubic inquiry into the murder of the Tory MP.
In a letter to Lady Julia Amess and Katie Amess, Yvette Cooper said it was ‘hard to see how an inquiry would be able to go beyond’ terrorist killer Ali Harbi Ali’s trial and the recently published Prevent learning review.
But the politician’s wife and daughter branded the response ‘unacceptable’ and ‘insulting’, as they prepare for a meeting with Ms Cooper and Keir Starmer on Wednesday.
At an emotional press conference this morning, Ms Amess demanded to know whether Sir David’s life was ‘worth less than others’ – pointing out a full inquiry had been ordered into the Southport killings.
Ali had been referred to Prevent seven years before he killed Sir David on October 15 2021, but his case was closed in 2016.
The so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex and was sentenced to a whole-life order in 2022.
Sir David’s family received a letter rejecting their call for a public inquiry into the case on Thursday.
In her letter, Ms Cooper said: ‘You had initially asked me to support the resumption of the coronial inquest which, as I said in my last letter of 17 December 2024, is a decision I cannot interfere with given the coroner’s independent judicial role, although I do recognise how difficult this is for you.
‘I am aware that you have since requested a full public inquiry.
‘As you will know the coroner looked carefully at whether to resume an inquest into Sir David’s death following the criminal trial, but concluded there were no additional questions that could be answered through an investigation of this kind, that had not already been considered as part of the trial.
‘In the circumstances it is therefore hard to see how an inquiry would be able to go beyond what has been reviewed in the trial, Prevent learning review, coroner’s report, as well as Lord Anderson and Essex Police’s forthcoming conclusions.
‘On that basis, the Government cannot establish a public inquiry.’
The Home Secretary told the Amess family she had decided to ‘appoint an independent external reviewer to look across the findings of the investigative work and scrutiny already completed or under way.’
She continued: ‘I realise this is not the answer you were looking for.
‘I remain keen to discuss this with you in the forthcoming meeting with the Prime Minister.’
Katie Amess said the Home Secretary had ‘strung’ the family along for ‘months’.
She said: ‘How can the Government justify holding inquiries for other tragic events like Southport and Nottingham and yet refuse to investigate the very system that failed my father?
‘Is his life worth less than others?
‘Does our family not deserve the truth like other families and to know that what happened will never happen again?
‘Yvette Cooper has strung us along for months suggesting that she was working on ways to help us.
‘However, all she has done is remove the possibility of us being included in the Southport inquiry; instead offering another useless paper review, conducted by a person of their choice.’
Lady Amess said the Government should reconsider its position for the ‘security of all public servants, and for every citizen who deserves to know that when the state fails’.
She said: ‘Despite our repeated calls, we have been denied the one thing that can provide real answers — a full public inquiry.’
‘To pour salt on the wound, Yvette Cooper has now written us a totally unacceptable and quite frankly insulting letter confirming that the Government will not order an inquiry, and that all the investigations to date should satisfy us.
‘Well I can tell her they most certainly do not.’
Addressing what she expected from the Prime Minister, Lady Amess said: ‘He must go away and reconsider the Government’s position and call us back in to confirm that an inquiry will be granted.
‘Not just for our family, but for the security of all public servants, and for every citizen who deserves to know that when the state fails, it will be held accountable and that steps will be taken to ensure there is no repeat.’