Suspect David Amess “watched YouTube videos of hate preacher Anjem Choudary”

Former school friends of the alleged murderer of MP Sir David Amess, Ali Harbi Ali, claim to have watched videos of jailed preacher Anjem Choudary on YouTube

Alleged killer Ali Harbi Ali is said to have watched YouTube videos of hate preacher Anjem Choudary, former friends have claimed.

Former school friends of the alleged murderer of MP Sir David Amess, who was stabbed to death in a surgical meeting on Friday afternoon, claimed he had become ‘obsessed’ with Choudary and watched videos from him.

British Islamist Choudary was jailed for five years and six months following a trial at Old Bailey in 2016 after being deemed to have sought support from ISIS.

Sentenced under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Choudary was told by Judge Holroyde that he had “crossed the line between the legitimate expression of his own views and a criminal act”.

After his release in 2018, he was banned from speaking in public, although this was lifted in July.

Ali reportedly made an appointment to see Sir David at Belfairs Methodist Church in Essex “a week before” the fatal attack, security sources said.

A tweet pinned to the public account of the father of five invited people to make an appointment to see their MP at the church hall on Friday.

Friend said The sun : “Choudary was someone he became completely obsessed with.”

Another former school pal said Ali was once a popular schoolboy who enjoyed soccer and socializing.

They added: “He was a really lovely boy. A devoted and very popular Muslim. He loved football and was very normal and we all went to the movies.

“He was socializing and everyone really liked him.”

Police said on Friday they viewed Sir David’s death as linked to terrorism, with a potential link to Islamist extremism.

Met police said on Saturday night that they would now be able to keep the suspect in custody until October 22 under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Ali, currently in a London police station, is a British national of Somali origin.

It is understood that he was not known to be a subject of interest to the MI5 security service prior to the attack.

A tribute from the Amess family said today: “The family would like to thank everyone for the wonderful and wonderful tributes paid to David after his cruel and violent death.

“It really gave us so much comfort. The support from friends, voters and the general public has been so overwhelming.

“As a family, it gave us strength.

“We realized from the tributes that there was much, much more to David than even we, those closest to him, knew.

“We are extremely proud of him. Our hearts are broken.

“However, there was still so much that David wanted to do – this is what we know from the events of the past few days. So this is not the end of MP Sir David Amess.

“This is the next chapter and as a family we ask everyone to support the many charities they have worked with. There is so much to mention, so find one that is close to your heart and help out. the.”