Jo Cox murder: Labour MP dies after being shot and stabbed 'by man shouting Britain first'

Tom Marshall16 June 2016
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Labour MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed as she arrived for a surgery in her Yorkshire constituency.

Jo Cox, 41, was attacked in Birstall, near Leeds, outside a library where she was holding the advice session.

Witnesses claimed the mother-of-two was attacked by a gunman who shouted "Britain first" as she was shot and stabbed "multiple times".

One said the attacker was "kicking her as she was lying on the floor".

A photo of Jo Cox shared on Twitter by her husband Brendan after the attack today
Brendan Cox/Twitter

He said the MP believed in a better world and "fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people".

He added: "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.

"Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisionous."

Jo Cox was elected last year

Mrs Cox had been left in a critical condition after the attack at about 1pm, which was witnessed by several people. She died before reaching hospital.

Eyewitness Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the murder scene, described the attack. He said: "He was shouting 'put Britain first'. He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her."

He said the gunman fired three shots, the final one at her head.

Another witness, Hichem Ben Abdallah, said the alleged attacker was "kicking her as she was lying on the floor".

Police at the scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire
Nigel Roddis/PA

Mr Abdallah, 56, added: "There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag.

"He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice."

He said the gun looked handmade and added: "The man stepped back with the gun and fired it and then he fired a second shot. As he was firing he was looking down at the ground.

"He was kicking her and he was pulling her by her hair."

Far-right group Britain First said it was "not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort".

Her death was confirmed in a news conference by temporary chief constable for West Yorkshire Dee Collins.

She said: "I am now very sad to have to report that she has died as a result of her injuries."

She added: "Jo was attacked by a man who inflicted serious and sadly, ultimately fatal injuries. Subsequently there was a further attack on a 77-year-old man nearby who has sustained injuries that are non-life threatening."

A 52-year-old man has been arrested over the attack. Ms Collins explained detectives were not looking for anyone else in connection with killing.

The arrested man has been named locally as Tommy Mair.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and prime minister David Cameron paid tribute to the MP, who was elected to represent Batley and Spen for the first time last year.

Mr Corbyn said the country would be "in shock at the horrific murder" and said she was a "much loved colleague".

He added: "For now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children...

"We have lost a much-loved colleague, a real talent and a dedicated campaigner for social justice and peace.

"But they have lost a wife and a mother, and our hearts go out to them."

Mr Cameron tweeted: "The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children."

Mrs Cox lived with her husband and their two children on a Dutch barge by Tower Hill on the Thames.

She was born in Batley, and won the Batley and Spen seat with a 6,057 majority at the 2015 general election.

The Cambridge graduate was the chair for the Labour Women’s Network and a senior advisor to the Freedom Fund, an anti-slavery charity.

She was previously head of policy for Oxfam and also worked with Save The Children and the NSPCC.

Politically she worked with Sarah Brown, the wife of former Prime Minister Gordon, to campaign against mothers and babies dying needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth. Mrs Cox also worked for Baroness Kinnock in Brussels for two years.

Asked by the Huffington Post about the biggest change since becoming an MP, she said: “Reconnecting back with my roots which has been absolutely brilliant. Going back home has been brilliant.”

She is the first member of the House of Commons to be murdered in office since 1990, when Ian Gow became the last in a string of MPs to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups.

The life of tragic MP Jo Cox

Jo Cox served as the Labour MP for Batley and Spen for just over a year before her death at the age of 41.

During that time the married mother-of-two carved out a reputation as a plain speaker and solid operator who was spoken of as a future minister.

Ms Cox was born at Staincliffe Hospital and was raised in Heckmondwike and Batley.

She graduated from Cambridge University in 1995 and went on to be head of policy for Oxfam, and worked as an adviser for former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, and Baroness Kinnock.

She was elected to the House of Commons in May 2015 after she secured a majority of 6,057 in the general election.

She was a vocal advocate for the victims of the Syrian civil war and was chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Friends of Syria group.

She abstained in last autumn's contentious vote on allowing British military action in Syria, insisting a more wide-ranging attempt at a solution to the conflict was needed.

Ms Cox was also the chairwoman of the Labour Women's Network.

She nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership contest last year, but voted for Blairite candidate Liz Kendall.

Ms Cox was also an adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and to the anti-slavery campaign group The Freedom Fund before she entered Parliament.

She was a supporter of the Remain campaign in the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.

She was due to celebrate her 42nd birthday next Wednesday.

This page is being updated.

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