Man arrested after lawmaker stabbing in eastern England

British lawmaker David Amess, who was attacked on Friday, was stabbed several times and emergency workers were still attending to him in a church where the assault took place, a local councillor said.

"He was stabbed several times," John Lamb told Reuters. "We're not sure how serious it is but it's not looking good."

Lamb said the attack took place around midday (1100 GMT) and he believed the emergency workers were trying to stabilise Amess before attempting to move him from the church.

A police cordon remained around the building, he said.

Lamb is chairman of the Conservative Party in the Southend West constituency which is represented in Britain's parliament by Amess.