According to a witness at the scene, a British MP from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party was stabbed many times in a church on Friday by a man who walked into a gathering with constituents from his electoral district.

At a gathering at the Belfairs Methodist Church, David Amess, 69, representing Southend West in Essex, eastern England, was stabbed around lunchtime.

The stabbing resulted in the arrest of a man, and police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the crime.

The office of Amess verified that he had been stabbed but did not provide any other information.

"He was stabbed multiple times," said John Lamb, a local councilor who was there at the moment. "We don't know how serious it is, but it doesn't appear to be good."

The state of Amess was unknown.

Armed police and several ambulances were seen outside the church in helicopter TV footage from Sky News. The church did not respond to a request for comment.

"This is terrifying and unexpected news. "I'm thinking of David, his family, and his staff," said Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party.

In 1983, Amess was elected to the House of Commons to represent Basildon, and in 1997, he ran for Southend West. According to his website, he met with local voters on each month's first and third Fridays.

"Animal welfare and pro-life issues" were cited as his fundamental interests.

The attack at Amess' constituent meeting had memories of a 2010 case in which Labour legislator Stephen Timms survived a stabbing in his constituency office, as well as Jo Cox's deadly shooting just days before the Brexit referendum in 2016.

On Twitter, Cox's husband Brendan commented, "Attacking our elected representatives is an attack on democracy itself." "There is no justification, no excuse." It's as cowardly as they come."