Man in His 30s Arrested in Essex Over Videos Showing Abuse of Sir David Amess Statue

Essex Police have arrested a man in his 30s over social media videos that appear to show a statue of the late MP Sir David Amess being abused. The arrest took place in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, on Friday.

Police said they began an investigation after receiving a report about the footage on Wednesday. According to the BBC, the man was questioned on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offense, and he remained in custody.

The clips were posted to TikTok and have since been deleted. In one, a person approaches the statue and says people were bowing to it, using an expletive to describe Amess. The speaker adds: "He voted for the Iraq War. Shame." A second clip shows a person pointing at the monument, saying "shame" and then spitting in the statue's face.

The account holder, who goes by the name "Angry Jesus," first 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 a caption, The Telegraph reported. The newspaper added that other videos on the account criticized Israel and expressed pro-Palestinian views.

Amess, a Conservative MP from the same party as 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. "To see his memorial treated in this way is deeply upsetting," the spokesperson said, according to the BBC.

Dame Priti Patel, the MP for Witham and a former UK home secretary, also condemned the footage in a post on X. She called on Essex Police to investigate what she described as a "disgusting and offensive act," after the video appeared on social media on Tuesday.

"Sir David was respectful, kind and a powerful advocate for free speech and expression. He always debated political differences with dignity," Patel wrote. "To disrespect his life and legacy in this way is dreadful."