Widow of Sir David Amess weeps as she sees 'perfect' sculpture of late husband

07 October 2023 , 18:47

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MP Sir David Amess was murdered during a constituency meeting two years ago (Image: PA)

The grieving widow of murdered MP Sir David Amess wept as she came face-to-face with a life-sized statue of her late husband.

Lady Amess, 69, saw the figure for the first time this week and said: “I felt I could reach out and touch him. It’s perfect… I honestly felt he was there in front of me.” She visited sculptor Andrew Lilley’s studio days before the second anniversary of Sir David’s murder. The Southend MP, 69, was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Lady Amess’ approval meant the world to Andrew, who has been working on the statue for six months. He said: “It’s a great honour to have created something so deeply moving and personal to her. Faith in politicians has hit rock-bottom and there are very few who have lived lives as exemplary as Sir David. He encompassed everything that’s good in a politician, working tirelessly for the betterment of his constituents.”

The sculpture of murdered MP David Amess is nearing completion (Stan Kujawa)

Lady Amess hopes the sculpture – which is nearing completion – will be placed in the city’s Chalkwell Park, where father-of-five Sir David could often be seen walking his French bulldog, Vivienne. But Andrew is still £26,000 short of the £37,000 needed to cast the clay figure in bronze.

Andrew Lilley poses next to his sculpture at his studio in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (Stan Kujawa)

So far the artist has received £5,000 from Southend Council and Phillip Miller, boss of the city’s Adventure Island theme park, gifted £3,000. The rest has come from generous members of the public through a JustGiving page. Andrew, from High Wycombe, Bucks, added: “I sincerely hope people pull together to support this.”

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Sir David and wife Julia at their daughter Flo's wedding in 2019

Last year, the late Queen made Southend a city – something Sir David had long campaigned for. The Tory MP, who represented Basildon in Essex for 14 years before moving to Southend West in 1997, was killed by Ali Harbi Ali, 25, on October 15, 2021. In April last year, the killer was handed a whole life sentence.

Saskia Rowlands