Sir David Amess: Southend to get city status in honour of MP

The Prime Minister said the Queen has agreed to grant Southend its long-awaited city status in his memory.

Southend is set to finally be granted city status in honour of the late MP Sir David Amess, who was killed at his constituency surgery in Belfairs Methodist Church on Friday.

He had championed for Southend to be named a city for decades during his time in Parliament and the Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons he is now "happy" to announce that the town "will be accorded the city status it so clearly deserves".

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According to the BBC, he went on to say that "Sir David spent almost 40 years in this House, but not one day in ministerial office, tells everything about where his priorities lay", adding that he "never once witnessed any achievement by any resident of Southend that could not somehow be cited in his bid to secure status for that distinguished town".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is said to be "so pleased" by the announcement, adding that it is "a fitting tribute to Sir David's hard work".

Johnson - who issued a heartfelt message calling Amess one of the "most gentle people in politics" - went on to suggest that although it was a "rare honour" the city to be granted the elevated status, this was an "exceptional circumstance" that both he and the soon-to-be city deserved.

Sir David became the second British politician to be killed in the past five years, after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox on June 16th 2016. Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for more security for MPs while insisting that politicians' safety and open democracy "can absolutely be balanced".