QSA pays tribute to murdered supporter David Amess MP
'The MP for Southend West, David Amess called for action to be taken to end funeral poverty.'
Quaker Social Action (QSA) has paid tribute to the MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a surgery for his constituents.
QSA tweeted that it was ’deeply saddened’. It said that he was a ‘champion of our Fair Funerals campaign who worked with us to gain cross-party support for a review of the Funeral Expenses Payment in 2018. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and community’.
The MP for Southend West, David Amess called for action to be taken to end funeral poverty. He used his position to point out some of the issues with current measures that aim to support grieving family members when organising a funeral. He also highlighted the distress of funeral poverty, particularly when a child has died. In a 2018 Westminster Hall debate, he cited recent research from Royal London, saying: ‘The average cost of a funeral is at £3,757, which is a six per cent increase over the last five years. This increase has had a knock-on effect, with people taking on an average of £1,744 of debt to pay for a funeral – an all-time high.’
Ali Harbi Ali, twenty-five, was charged with the murder of David Amess, which occurred on 15 October in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, following an investigation led by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism unit.
QSA also paid tribute to the death of employee Fiona Singleton, ‘our wonderful former colleague who was instrumental in the growth and impact of our work on funeral poverty’.
