SOUTHEND is to be granted city status in tribute to MP David Amess.
The Conservative MP was stabbed on Friday during a constituency surgery, and died shortly afterwards.
Opening tributes to Sir David in the Commons, Boris Johnson announced that the Queen was pleased to accord city status to Southend, after four decades of campaigning on the issue by the MP.
He said: "A compelling case, Mr Speaker, and as it is only a short time since Sir David last put that case to me in this chamber, I am happy to announce that Her Majesty has agreed that Southend will be accorded the city status it so clearly deserves."
Mr Johnson said that the fact Sir David had spent 40 years in the commons as an MP, but not one day in ministerial office, showed that his priority was to serve his constituents.
He said: "He was not a man in awe of this chamber, nor a man who sought patronage or advancement.
"He simply wanted to serve the people of Essex, first in Basildon, then in Southend. And it was in the act of serving his constituents that he was so cruelly killed."
The Prime Minister added: "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.
"But we will not allow the manner of Sir David’s death to in any way detract from his accomplishments as a politician or as a human being. Because Sir David was a patriot who believed passionately in this country, in its people, in its future.
"He was also one of the nicest, kindest, and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches."
Earlier hundreds of MPs held a minute's silence in the Commons in tribute to Sir David, while his family visited the site of his last moments - Belfairs Methodist Church in Essex.
His widow Julia wiped tears from her eyes as she read tributes to her dead husband, while other relatives held on to each other during the church visit.
Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer followed the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the slain MP, saying: "Our democracy is precious, it has held firm against many tests but it is also a fragile, living thing.
"Let us use the memory of Sir David’s life and passions to nourish it, to recommit ourselves in standing for the things that he stood for, the things the extremists will never comprehend. For decency in our disagreements.
"For kindness in our hearts. For our great democracy and for the hope that - through it - we can make our country and our world a better place."
Conservative MP Mark Francois followed, describing Sir David as his best friend in politics, and the "best bloke" he "ever knew".
In an emotional tribute, Mr Francois said Sir David was "now resting in the arms of the God he worshipped so devotedly his whole life."
He said: "Farewell David, my colleague, my great friend, and quite simply the best bloke I ever knew".
The MP also called for all parliamentarians to ensure Sir David did not die in vain, but 'toughening up' the forthcoming online harms bill.
He explained: "Let's put David's law onto the statute books, the eessence of which would be that while people in public life must remain open to legitimate criticism, they can no longer be vilified and their families subject to the most horrendous abuse, especially by people who hide behind a cloak of anonymity with the connivance of the social media companies for profit."
Mr Francois added that he wanted to bring the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter to the "bar of the house, if necessary kicking and screaming" to "account for their actions...or rather inactions".
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