Sir David Amess was attacked in his constituency surgery and died of stab wounds at the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
The FPA is shocked to hear of the passing of this great parliamentarian who was a passionate supporter of the fire sector. He was chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fire Safety and was a staunch advocate of holding the government to account on its response to the Lakanal fire in 2009.
Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director of the FPA responded to the sad announcement by saying:
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Sir David. The fire industry has lost a great friend and supporter. Over the many years he was involved with the All-Party Group he developed a clear understanding of the issues facing the sector and was prepared to voice his concerns regardless of whether they were contrary to government policy.
"I have little doubt that we would have seen an early reversal of the Department for Education’s decision not to sprinkler all but a few new and refurbished schools if we had not maintained the tremendous support from Sir David campaigning on this subject. I admired him greatly and know that without his determination and commitment to fire safety, much of the change in this sector would not have been heard and acted upon by government.
"My thoughts are with his wife and five children at this incredibly difficult time. Parliament has lost a great man."
The FPA has contributed to a book of condolences, which can be viewed here.
Photo credit: David Amess' portrait is licensed under CC BY 3.0.