In June 2015, Jo Cox rose to her feet in the House of Commons to give her maiden speech.

Just over a year later, she had been brutally murdered, her attacker, driven by hate, targeted her simply because she was a Member of Parliament.

The horror and suddenness of her death left many of us bewildered at the way this young woman had lost her life leaving her children to grow up without their mother.

Sadly, she was not the first MP attacked while doing their job. In 2004, researcher, Andrew Pennington, was killed while trying to protect Cheltenham MP Lord Nigel Jones from an assailant. Thankfully, Labour MP Stephen Timms survived after being stabbed by a constituent in 2010.

No one could have predicted when Sir David Amess entered his constituency surgery on October 15, he too would be a victim of horrendous violence. Another family is grieving, left with only questions about why this would happen to a beloved husband and father.

That this tragedy should befall someone like Sir David - a kind, generous, church going, family man - is beyond belief.

I got to know Sir David through a shared interest in, of all things, caravan holidays. His commons office was in the same as block as mine and there was never a day when I would not see him. With his trademark beaming grin, he was always ready with a cheery hello and a recommendation for a campsite he had just visited!

In many respects he was an example to us all.

Sir David had strong opinions about many things, that’s why he was in public life, but he was always courteous to everyone he met regardless of whether they held the same view or not. This is why his death is such a shock to those of us who were lucky enough to count him as a friend.

Over the past few years, whether it is Brexit or Covid-19, it feels as though society is losing its ability to tolerate other ways of thinking.

As MPs we are rightly open to scrutiny and criticism but the level of abuse meted out to all manner of public servants means good people will be deterred from entering politics. As a result, democracy will be poorer.

I don’t believe that there is anything we can learn from Sir David’s death, it was frankly pointless and utterly heart-breaking, but I do believe there is a huge amount we can learn from David’s life. If we can all tolerate opposing opinions in the altruistic, constructive and considerate way Sir David did, then the world would truly be a better place.