When the clues assemble themselves

The man arrested by police following the killing of the MP Sir David Amess has been named as Ali Harbi Ali.

The 25-year-old is being held under the Terrorism Act and officers have until Friday to question him.

The BBC understands Mr Ali was referred to the counter-terrorist Prevent scheme some years ago, but was never a formal subject of interest to MI5.

It’s odd, but as soon as the news broke I was pretty sure that the alleged perpetrator’s name would not be something like Steve or Thomas. No doubt millions of others were equally sure – even internationally.

The observation isn’t meant to be particularly sarcastic because nutters kill innocent people all the time, but the clues seemed to assemble themselves within seconds. Stabbing, prominent victim, tardy reporting of any details about the alleged perpetrator. Even MPs will have guessed correctly within a matter of seconds. The clues assemble themselves.