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Man accused of killing Conservative MP David Amess pleads not guilty

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Tributes Are Paid To Murdered MP Sir David Amess
A large photograph of murdered MP David Amess is seen outside the Houses of Parliament on October 18, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The man accused of killing Conservative MP David Amess has pleaded not guilty today.

Ali Harbi Ali, 25, also pleaded not guilty to preparing acts of terrorism between May 2019 and September this year.

Ali has been accused of stabbing Amess to death at his constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex in October, following his arrest soon after.

While a provisional trial date has been set for March next year.

Amess, 69, had been the MP for Southend West for nearly 40 years.

After campaigning for decades to make his constituency of Southend a city, the prime minister gave it city status just days after his death, in honour of Amess.

He is the second MP to be killed in their constituency in the past five years.