Sir Robert Buckland KC, the former Conservative justice secretary, has been selected to head an independent review examining state failures that preceded the killing of MP Sir David Amess.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the appointment in correspondence sent to the Amess family on Monday, following discussions held in January between the minister and Sir David's daughter Katie Amess.
In her letter, Ms Mahmood described Sir Robert as bringing "deep expertise and a thoughtful, sensitive approach" to the role. His extensive government experience includes serving as secretary of state for Wales, prisons and probation minister, and solicitor general.
The family expressed gratitude for the appointment, with Katie Amess stating they "welcome the opportunity to meet" Sir Robert before the review commences.
Sir David was fatally stabbed during a constituency surgery in Essex in 2021. His attacker, Ali Harbi Ali, a self-proclaimed Islamic State supporter, received a whole-life prison term the following year for the murder.
Concerns about Ali had been flagged to authorities years before the attack. He was referred to Prevent, the government's counter-radicalisation programme, seven years prior to killing the veteran Conservative MP. However, his case was closed in 2016.
Sir David Amess was killed in October 2021 after being stabbed during a constituency surgery in Essex | IAN WESTA review conducted last year by independent Prevent commissioner David Anderson KC found that Ali's involvement with the scheme had been terminated prematurely following what were described as "problematic" assessments.
Former home secretary Yvette Cooper had previously rejected the family's requests for a full inquiry, a decision Lady Amess and Katie Amess condemned as "totally unacceptable" and "insulting".
Despite welcoming Sir Robert's appointment, Katie Amess made clear that her family's fundamental position remains unchanged. She told the Press Association: "However, we must be clear: what we have always sought is a full statutory public inquiry. A review is not the same thing."
She emphasised that her father's death raised "serious questions about security, prevention and whether opportunities were missed to stop what happened."
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Robert Buckland will lead the review
| PAKatie Amess stressed these concerns extended beyond her family's personal grief: "These are not just matters for our family. They are issues of national importance."
While committing to participate constructively, she maintained pressure on the government: "We will engage with Sir Robert in good faith, but we will continue to press for the transparency and accountability that only a full public inquiry can provide. We owe that to our father, and to the public."
Radd Seiger, the family's spokesman, described Sir Robert's selection as "a serious and credible one" while reiterating that fundamental concerns remain unaddressed.
He explained the crucial distinction between what has been offered and what the family seeks: "What has been offered is an 'overarching review', not a statutory public inquiry. That distinction matters. A review does not carry the same powers to compel evidence, to test that evidence in public, or to deliver full transparency and accountability."
Mr Seiger argued that questions surrounding how a sitting MP could be killed at a constituency event, and whether systemic failures occurred in prevention, intelligence or protection, "are not questions that can be satisfactorily answered behind closed doors."
The family intends to help shape the review's terms of reference but will continue pressing ministers for a full public inquiry.