American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson led a somber British Parliament on Monday in honoring the Conservative lawmaker stabbed to death as he met constituents at a church hall, an attack that has raised questions about how the country protects it politicians and grapples with extremism at home.
The tributes from shaken and grieving colleagues came as detectives tried to determine whether David Amess was targeted simply because he was a legislator, or for more individual reasons. A 25-year-old British man with Somali heritage, Ali Harbi Ali, was arrested at the scene and is being held under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of murder. Police say the suspect may have had a "motivation linked to Islamist extremism."
The prime minister told lawmakers that "this House has lost a steadfast servant."
"Sir David was taken from us in a contemptible act of violence, striking at the core of what it is to be a member of this House and violating the sanctity both of the church in which he was killed and the constituency surgery that is so essential to our representative democracy," Johnson said, referring to the open meetings British lawmakers hold with those they represent.
The death of the popular legislator -- who had served in Parliament for almost 40 years and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 -- has shocked Britain, especially its politicians. It came five years after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death by a far-right extremist. Cox was the first British lawmaker to be killed since a peace accord ended large-scale Northern Ireland violence almost 30 years earlier.
The House of Commons returned Monday from a three-week break for a session that opened with a prayer from the Speaker's chaplain, Tricia Hillas, and a minute of silence. Then lawmakers from all parties stood recall Amess fondly as a hard-working legislator who never sought high office but, as Johnson put it, "simply wanted to serve the people of Essex," his home county.
Amess, 69, was a social conservative who opposed abortion, campaigned for animal rights and strongly supported Britain's exit from the European Union.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who often differed with Amess politically, said the late lawmaker held his beliefs "passionately but gently," and his life was a reminder that "civility matters."
After the tributes, lawmakers crossed the street from Parliament to the medieval St. Margaret's Church, for a memorial service that included prayers for those who "feel vulnerable in public service."
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said that, despite the horror of Amess' death, "the light lit by public service must never be put out."
"In the face of mindless injustice, we determine to shine it all the more brightly," said Welby, the leader of the Church of England.
The government has ordered a review of lawmakers' security following the attack on Friday in Leigh-on-Sea, a town in Amess' Southend West constituency 40 miles (60 kilometers) east of London. British politicians are protected by armed police when they are in Parliament but generally are not given such protection in their home districts.
That is despite the fact that many politicians say the amount of abuse they receive, both online and in person, has soared. Police in Wales said Monday they had arrested a 76-year-old man on suspicion of sending a death threat to Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant, the latest in a string of threats to politicians.
Bryant said the tenor of politics was "more sour now than I've known it in 20 years."
While many politicians fear for their safety, most also resist putting more barriers between themselves and the public in a country where lawmakers regularly hold "surgeries" to hear their constituents' complaints and suggestions.
The killing has also renewed debate about the threat from people radicalized by Islamic extremist or far-right ideology.
Multiple media outlets have reported that the suspect was referred several years go to a government-sponsored program to steer people away from extremism, but was not considered a current subject of interest by the security services.
Ali comes from a family prominent in politics in Somalia. His father, Harbi Ali Kullane, a former adviser to Somalia's prime minister, told the Sunday Times he was "traumatized" by the attack and his son's arrest.
Ali is being questioned at a police station and has not yet been charged or appeared in court. Police have until Friday to charge or release him -- though that time can be extended. They are working to determine what, if any, connection he had to Amess.
Amess had campaigned for children with disabilities, women with endometriosis and -- tirelessly -- for the town of Southend to be made a city. To cheers in Parliament on Monday, Johnson announced that the queen had agreed to grant Southend city status.
Amess was also a member of several committees, including the All-Party Parliamentary group for Tamils, which promotes the rights of the minority ethnic group in Sri Lanka, and was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary British-Qatar Group, which aims to build ties between the two countries. Amess visited the Gulf state just days before he was killed.
U.K. investigators so far have not found any evidence that the link to Qatar is significant.
On Monday, lawmakers and parliamentary staff left bouquets of flowers and handwritten notes in a courtyard at Parliament. Outside the Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, his widow, Julia, wiped away tears as she viewed the many flowers, notes and cards left by residents.
Amess' family said in a statement that they were struggling to comprehend what had happened.
"We ask people to set aside their differences and show kindness and love to all," said Julia Amess and the couple's five children. "This is the only way forward. Set aside hatred and work towards togetherness."
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.