From tales of a sweet blessed by the pope to his commitment to his town, colleagues honour life of much-loved parliamentarian
MPs recalled the impish grin, megawatt smile and cheeky chappie humour of Sir David Amess in tributes that included how he once got the pope to bless his boiled sweet, and how his office often resembled a pet shop.
James Duddridge, Conservative MP for neighbouring Rochford and Southend East, recalled how Amess, a devout Catholic and regular visitor to the Vatican, once found himself in the receiving line as the pope was dispensing papal blessings. “David, having a sore throat, reached into his pocket for a boiled sweet. David got his timing wrong. The pope took the sweet, thinking it was a revered object to be blessed. Blessed the revered object. And David had to put it back in his pocket. A holy sweet.”
