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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Claire Phipps, Andrew Sparrow and Chris Johnston

Jo Cox MP killed in West Yorkshire - how the day unfolded

Tributes to Jo Cox: ‘We’ve lost a great star’

Closing summary

  • Jo Cox, the 41-year-old Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was killed after being stabbed and shot in the street outside the library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she held her regular constituency surgery.
  • She was pronounced dead at 1.48pm on Thursday.
  • A 52-year-old man, named in reports as Thomas Mair, has been arrested. Mair lived locally and was known to have had mental health problems. There are reports that he had links to far-right groups. Eye-witnesses said he shouted “Britain first” as he attacked Cox, with witnesses described as a hunting knife and a “home-made” gun.
  • A 77-year-old man who apparently tried to help Cox was also injured, although not seriously.
  • Brendan Cox, the MP’s husband, said his wife “would have no regrets about her life – she lived every day of it to the full”. The couple have two young children. He added:

I and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.

Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life.

Jo Cox in a picture posted on Twitter by her husband.
Jo Cox in a picture posted on Twitter by her husband. Photograph: Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox)/Twitter

The referendum is a great exercise in democracy. But the campaign has been suspended, on both sides, out of respect for Jo and her family – and for that democracy that she served.

One of the virtues of our parliamentary democracy is the everyday accessibility of MPs to the people they represent. It’s what makes the way we govern ourselves very different from many others. We believe in freedom, liberty and justice … Today’s horrible events are an assault on all of these values.

Jo’s death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile – we must never forget to cherish it.

  • Allin-Khan should have become Labour’s 100th female MP. Instead the tally remains at 99.

This live blog is now closing. We continue to cover the aftermath of Jo Cox’s death in a new blog here:

Updated

Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell has written a personal tribute in the Telegraph to “my fearless friend Jo Cox”.

Mitchell and Cox together set up the all-party parliamentary group on Syria, he writes:

At the time, her party leadership was against military intervention in Syria and mine was in favour, which meant the atmosphere around the issue was quite heated. But she was completely uninterested in any of that. She just wanted to do the right thing …

It’s hard to believe that someone so brave and fearless and fun is dead, but the hardest thing to think about is her two lovely little children. They would come in to Portcullis House for tea with their mum, and now she’s gone.

A study in the the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology in January 2016 examined “harassment and stalking” of MPs, and made some startling conclusions. Of 239 Westminster MPs who took part:

  • 81% had experienced intrusive or aggressive behaviour.
  • 18% had been subject to attack, or attempted attack.
  • 53% had been stalked or harassed.

Both sides in the EU referendum will suspend campaigning on Friday as a mark of respect for Jo Cox.

Both sides have cancelled all events for Friday. Ukip will not go ahead with a planned poster launch, Economists for Brexit scrapped a press conference, and many Labour MPs are too shocked and grief-stricken to consider campaigning.

Some MPs have called for parliament to be recalled to allow colleagues to pay tribute to Cox in the House of Commons.

Bill Shorten, leader of Australia’s opposition Labor party, and his deputy Tanya Plibersek have issued a statement.

The Labor family shares the sadness of all those who mourn the horrific murder of British MP Jo Cox …

She lost her life doing something all of us in public office take for granted, and something our democracy depends upon …

The British people, our oldest friends, are in our hearts today.

The Times newspaper reports that police were considering extra security for Jo Cox ahead of yesterday’s attack, after it says she “had been harassed in a stream of messages over three months”.

The Times says a man was cautioned over the messages and they are not believed to be connected to her death.

But Cox’s death will no doubt cast a spotlight on risks faced by MPs and what can be done to mitigate them. The BBC’s James Landale says:

There will inevitably be another debate about MPs’ security. Many are often subject to physical attack. But politics can’t happen from behind a ring of steel. Jo Cox’s death is not just an awful tragedy. It is also an assault on our democracy.

Friday’s Guardian front page is understandably dominated by the death of Jo Cox. The headline is a quote from a tribute made by her husband, Brendan Cox:

Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.

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.

Global tributes

Press Association has rounded up some of the tributes from around the world to Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was murdered on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, led the tributes saying she was horrified by the “assassination” and calling Cox a “rising star”. She referenced Cox’s maiden speech, which celebrated the diversity of her constituency. Clinton said:

It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the world’s oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence.

This is how we must honour Jo Cox – by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a message in French and English:

On behalf of our parliament and all Canadians, I offer my deepest condolences to the family and colleagues of British MP Jo Cox.

Ireland’s premier Enda Kenny announced that, in light of the suspension of campaigning by the Leave and Remain groups, he would not be speaking on the EU referendum as planned. He also tweeted:

What an appalling tragedy. Jo Cox, a mother doing her public duty, her life taken away. My deepest sympathies to her family.

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, offered his condolences after a visit to Finland. He said on Twitter:

Repelled by tragic attack on British MP Jo Cox. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones.

Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was “deeply shocked”. He added on Twitter:

Our condolences, prayers and solidarity are with her family & the people of the UK.

The Twitter account of the Malala Fund, the organisation led by Pakistani girls’ rights activist Malala Yousafzai, retweeted a comment from her father. Ziauddin Yousafzai tweeted a link to Cox’s speech calling on Britain to help the victims of the war in Syria and said:

May her soul rest in peace. Jo Cox left behind a legacy of love, respect & peace.

US secretary of state John Kerry, who was travelling in northern Europe on Thursday, said the attack was “an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy”.

Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the killing “a true shock”.

Several MPs attended a service at St Peter’s church in Birstall on Thursday evening for Jo Cox. Labour MPs Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh and Caroline Flint were among those gathered to remember their friend and colleague.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper is comforted as she leaves St Peter’s Church.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper is comforted as she leaves St Peter’s Church. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Mary Creagh (left) and Caroline Flint (second right) with mourners at St Peter’s church, Birstall.
Mary Creagh (left) and Caroline Flint (second right) with mourners at St Peter’s church, Birstall. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Allin-Khan takes the seat with more than 50% of votes cast, albeit on a turnout much reduced since the 2015 general election (69.7% then to 42.5% today).

Allin-Khan should have become Labour’s 100th female MP tonight. Sadly, the number stays at 99.

My colleague Ben Quinn has filed his report from Tooting:

Allin-Khan increased Labour’s majority in Tooting from 2,842 in last year’s general election – when the seat was won by Sadiq Khan – to 6,357. Dan Watkins came second for the Conservatives in both elections.

Among other candidates standing in the seat vacated by the London mayor were Esther Obiri-Darko for the Greens, who won 830 votes; and Ukip’s Elizabeth Jones, who scored 507.

Rosena Allin-Khan says she won’t make a speech but only a short statement. She says her thoughts are with the family of Jo Cox:

Jo’s death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile – we must never forget to cherish it.

We are all here in recognition of our democratic values.

Updated

Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan wins Tooting byelection

Richard Field, the returning officer, is about to announce the result in Tooting:

Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan wins with 17,894 votes.

Dan Watkins for the Tories was second on 11,537.

Labour wins the Tooting byelection.

Canada’s parliament has observed a minute of silence in memory of Jo Cox, AFP reports:

The gesture of respect was held at the opening of Question Period in the House of Commons, and was preceded by a tribute to Cox by opposition MP Nathan Cullen.

“A mom of two beautiful children, a friend, a dedicated Labour MP, a long advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world was murdered today,” he said, fighting back tears.

“Jo used her voice for those who have none, she dedicated her passion to those who needed it most. She harnessed her love even for those who [allowed] hate to consume them.”

Wandsworth council says the turnout in the Tooting byelection was 42.5%.

A two-minute silence was observed at the count for Jo Cox.

This is Claire Phipps picking up the live blog again.

Clearly, in the wake of the day’s terrible events, the result of the Tooting byelection has become very much a side issue.

But a declaration is expected soon and I’ll bring that to you here when it happens.

That’s it from me - thanks for reading. My colleague Claire Phipps is taking over now and will bring you the result of the Tooting byelection.

Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee has written about the killing of MP Jo Cox in a piece headlined: The mood is ugly, and an MP is dead.

This attack on a public official cannot be viewed in isolation. It occurs against a backdrop of an ugly public mood in which we have been told to despise the political class, to distrust those who serve, to dehumanise those with whom we do not readily identify.”

Hillary Clinton statement

Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said:

I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. Her maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance.

It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the world’s oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honor Jo Cox -- by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together. My thoughts and prayers are with her friends, her family, and the British people.”

Updated

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to the MP Jo Cox at an impromptu vigil in Parliament Square in London.

Jeremy Corbyn pays tribute to MP Jo Cox: ‘We lost a wonderful woman’

Updated

My colleague Will Woodward in Sydney reports that prominent Australian Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese called the killing of Jo Cox a “hate crime”, while Liberal cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said it highlighted the vulnerability of MPs: “It just really underlines how careful we all have to be.”

Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has also commented on Twitter:

Updated

Ballots are being counted for the Tooting byelection at Wandsworth town hall in south London.
Ballots are being counted for the Tooting byelection at Wandsworth town hall in south London. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

The Labour MP overseeing the party’s polling day push in the Tooting byelection has spoken of how they found it “extraordinarily difficult” and momentarily halted their campaign after learning of the death of Jo Cox.

Clive Efford, the MP for Eltham, told the Guardian: “When the news came out and the announcement was made around five o’clock everyone downed tools in the campaign but we realised that the process has got to continue and people gradually gathered themselves and got back out on the campaign.”

He spoke about advice given to Labour MPs in the wake of the killing of their colleague. “We have been asked to contact, if we have any concerns, our local borough commanders or the security at the House of Commons, but it’s obviously difficult to know what to be concerned about until there is more details about what has happened.”

Additional police officers were on duty at the count centre in Wandsworth council’s civil suite, where a two-minute silence was held in memory of Cox.

Labour’s candidate, Rosena Allin-Khan, was widely expected to hold the seat vacated by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who brought in a 2,842 majority for the party at the general election.

Allin-Khan, a mother of two who is deputy leader of Wandsworth council’s Labour group, is a junior accident and emergency doctor. Her campaign literature has made much of her mixed Polish and Pakistani heritage and her working class roots.

Updated

'She gave her life for this community'

A vigil for Jo Cox at St Peter’s church in Birstall, west Yorkshire on Thursday night.
A vigil for Jo Cox at St Peter’s church in Birstall, west Yorkshire on Thursday night. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Hundreds of people packed into St Peter’s church in Birstall to remember Jo Cox in a service mainly of silence punctuated by readings, music and prayers.

The bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Gibbs, told the vigil: “She grew up in this community, she lived for this community, she served this community and, in the end, she gave her life for this community.”

Friends, colleagues and people who said they had never even met Cox crammed into every pew, with others standing in all other available spaces.
Among those who attended were many of Cox’s Labour colleagues, including Yvette Cooper, Dan Jarvis, Rachel Reeves, Caroline Flint and Mary Creagh.

Gibbs told the congregation: “None of us, I suspect, could believe the news when we heard it this afternoon. We still can’t believe it as we come tonight overwhelmed by shock and grief and a tremendous sense of loss but, above all, in many ways, we’re still numb.”

The bishop added: “There will also be great feelings of anger and hurt and pain. How we handle those feelings in our own lives and in our communities will be of great importance. We are now here for each other tonight.”

Updated

Times columnist Sathnam Sanghera makes a very valid point in this tweet:

My colleague Ben Quinn is at Wandsworth town hall for the count following the Tooting byelection held today.

Members of the public sign a white board of condolences at a vigil for Jo Cox in Parliament Square.
Members of the public sign a white board of condolences at a vigil for Jo Cox in Parliament Square. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, has given the union’s reaction to the killing:

We’re heartbroken. Jo was a GMB member and a friend. She was a working mum who got up and went to work this morning, that’s all. That she won’t go home to her kids tonight is cruel and unfair. Our thoughts, love and condolences are with her family and friends. As her husband Brendan said, she’d want us to unite against the hatred that killed her. We will. Sleep well, sister.”

This comment piece by Alex Massie on the Spectator’s website has been getting quite a bit of attention online. Here’s a flavour:

Nigel Farage isn’t responsible for Jo Cox’s murder. And nor is the Leave campaign. But they are responsible for the manner in which they have pressed their argument. They weren’t to know something like this was going to happen, of course, and they will be just as shocked and horrified by it as anyone else...

When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you don’t get to be surprised when someone breaks.”

Updated

At the start of a US state department briefing in Washington DC today, spokesman John Kirby told reporters that officials were “shocked and appalled” by the killing of Jo Cox.

“Of course we offer our sincere condolences to Ms Cox’s family and friends and all of the British people ... And obviously we’re going to refer you to UK authorities for this, who we understand are already investigating this heartbreaking incident,” he said. “But again, we thought it was important right at the top here to express our condolences for this terrible crime.”

Updated

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, giving his Mansion House speech in the City of London tonight. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters

The governor of the Bank of England has paid tribute to MP Jo Cox as a “remarkable person” who dedicated her life to helping others.

Mark Carney had earlier cancelled a scheduled speech on the financial services sector to a dinner of City bankers in London after the news of Cox’s death. In swiftly drafted remarks, the governor expressed his condolences and hailed the Labour politician’s political and charity work.

“On behalf of everyone at the Bank of England, I would like to express our horror at today’s events in West Yorkshire. Our thoughts, condolences and prayers are with Jo Cox’s husband, her two young children, her extended family and her colleagues,” Carney said.

“While I did not know Jo Cox personally, I knew many of you did and that many, many more knew what a remarkable person she was. Jo Cox dedicated her life to helping others,” Carney said, citing her work with Oxfam, the NSPCC, the Freedom Fund, international action to stop deaths in childbirth and her more recent role representing constituents in Batley and Spen.

Carney added: “I have no doubt that this spirit will remain undimmed and such progress will continue. The best tribute that this room, this city and the country can give to the memory of Jo Cox is to renew our shared commitment whatever our differences to promote the common good in the United Kingdom and the world.”

A man has been arrested in Exeter following an abusive call made to Ben Bradshaw, who is the city’s MP.

Devon and Cornwall police said a 37-year-old man was held for questioning after a call was recorded at the Labour MP’s office at Westminster.

A police spokesperson said: “An abusive phone call to MP Ben Bradshaw was recorded on his office answering machine. The office contacted parliamentary police and Devon and Cornwall police. A 37-year-old man from Exeter is in police custody for interview.”

Updated

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw tweets:

The Guardian’s obituary of Jo Cox

Jo Cox
Jo Cox Photograph: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

The Labour MP Jo Cox, who has died aged 41 after being shot and stabbed in her constituency of Batley and Spen, in West Yorkshire, was a woman who in many ways represented the character and style of the modern Labour party. She was widely viewed as someone who could have been a serious player in the party in the years to come.

Updated

Suspected killer Tommy Mair has two brothers: Scott Mair, 49, and a half-brother, Duane St Louis, the product of his mother Mary’s second marriage with the late Reginald St Louis, who came from Grenada.
Speaking outside his house in Dewsbury on Thursday, St Louis, 41, said he couldn’t believe the news. “I was watching Sky News and I recognised him in handcuffs on the ground. It felt like a dream. I just couldn’t believe he’d do something like that,” he said. “I phoned my mum and she was watching too. She tried to phone his mobile but couldn’t get through and she knew something was up.” Mair last visited his mother on Wednesday night to help her tune her TV, he said.

St Louis said Mair had obsessive compulsive disorder: “He was obsessed with washing himself. He would scrub his skin with Brillo pads.”
He insisted his brother had never expressed any racist views and seemed fine having a mixed-race sibling. Neither did he have any strong political views that St Louis was aware of.
Mair had been volunteering for the past few years at a school for children with disabilities, he said.
St Louis said he had a good relationship with his brother, but that Mair would fight with Scott, his younger, full brother, from their mother’s first marriage. Scott has spent “half his life in jail”, said St Louis, while Thomas has never been in trouble with the police, he claimed.

Updated

Oxfam statement on Jo Cox death

Jo Cox worked for Oxfam and Oxfam International between 2001 and 2009 in a variety of roles. The charity said in a statement tonight that she was a passionate advocate on humanitarian issues including the conflicts in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her commitment to humanitarian issues led her to become head of humanitarian campaigns for Oxfam International in New York in 2007 for two years. She also met her husband, Brendan, while working for the organisation.

Max Lawson of Oxfam, who worked closely with her, said:

Jo was a diminutive pocket rocket from the north. She was as a ball of energy, always smiling, full of new ideas, of idealism, of passion. She gave so much to Oxfam. She was an inspiring leader, really bringing the best out of all of us, always positive, always believing we could win, and always passionate for change. She was particularly brilliant at bringing huge energy to our campaigning around the desperate humanitarian crisis in Darfur.”

Oxfam GB’s chief executive, Mark Goldring, said:

Oxfam is proud of the role that Jo played in our work over a decade. Many of our colleagues remember her fondly. The rest of us followed her work with admiration. She never lost her passion for peace, justice and equality. Everyone is deeply shocked to hear the news. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Brendan and Jo’s family at this difficult time.”

Updated

Flowers are being left in Birstall in tribute to Jo Cox.

A note and flowers left by Labour MP Mary Creagh with other bouquets at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall, where Jo Cox was shot dead.
A note and flowers left by Labour MP Mary Creagh with other bouquets at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall, where Jo Cox was shot dead. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

There are also tributes in Parliament Square in Westminster.

Floral tributes in Parliament Square to Jo Cox.
Floral tributes in Parliament Square to Jo Cox. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Osborne: ‘our values will prevail’

Chancellor George Osborne at tonight’s Mansion House dinner in the City of London.
Chancellor George Osborne at tonight’s Mansion House dinner in the City of London. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

George Osborne had been due to use his annual Mansion House speech in the City to step up warnings about the economic risks of Britain leaving the European Union. But instead he gave a short statement saying that next Thursday’s referendum was “a great exercise in democracy”.

The chancellor said: “People are free in this country to live their lives as they choose and express themselves without fear. Society will protect their right to do so and hold to account those who disregard our laws. Today’s horrible events are an assault on all of these values. But we know that these values, no matter how they have been challenged in the past, have always prevailed, prevail today and they will always prevail. For they are the values of Great Britain, our great democracy.”

The killing of Jo Cox has hit home “particularly hard” on a day when voters have been selecting a new MP in a byelection for the south London constituency of Tooting, the acting returning officer in the area said tonight.

The flag was flying at half mast over Wandsworth town hall, where candidates and their supporters were due to start gathering at the election count. The election was triggered following the election of the constituency’s long-serving MP, Sadiq Khan, as London mayor.

Paul Martin, the acting returning officer, said: “The murder of Jo Cox has shocked the entire country, and it has hit home particularly hard in Tooting where right now the community is in the process of selecting a new member of parliament to represent their interests.

“It is our duty and responsibility to continue with this by-election, but clearly a very dark shadow has been cast over these proceedings. The flag over Wandsworth town hall is now flying at half mast and we will hold a two minute silence during this evening’s count to reflect upon this awful loss. Our thoughts, prayers and deep condolences are with Jo’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

Updated

Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, has commented:

I am shocked by the attack on Jo Cox and saddened to hear of her death. Jo was known for her tireless campaigning for human rights and for the disadvantaged. Her campaigning meant that she positively affected the lives of many people abroad and here in the UK as well. She spoke up for the children of Syria and campaigned for migrants to be welcomed here. My thoughts, prayers and condolences go to Jo’s young family and to her husband Brendan Cox, himself a good friend of Muslim civil society.”

Updated

'An attack on humanity, idealism and democracy': the Guardian's view

Jo Cox, who was killed in West Yorkshire on Thursday.
Jo Cox, who was killed in West Yorkshire on Thursday. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

“The MP murdered on the street embodied decency and a commitment to all that humanity has in common. What a contrast with her assailant and so much that is rotten in politics.”

Read more from the Guardian’s view on the killing of Jo Cox, which it sums up as an attack on humanity, idealism and democracy.

Updated

Mair’s mother, Mary, said she was too upset to speak on Thursday, but her neighbours talked of their shock at the news.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said Mair was a “devoted son” who did his mum’s shopping twice a week and would bring two carrier bags around on foot, before walking several miles up the hill back to his house. He had visited last on Wednesday, she said.

She insisted it was “totally out of character” and that he had never been in trouble with police before. She said he “practically lived in the library. He was obsessed with books. His house is full of them”.

Another neighbour said he saw Mair and his mother out in the garden potting plants together just last week.

Updated

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been joined in Parliament Square tonight by many MPs, some of whom entered the Commons last year along with Cox.

He described her as a “wonderful woman who stood for many things – human rights, peace and justice” and said she was an exemplary MP. Her death was “beyond appalling”, Corbyn added.

The class of 2015 were grieving deeply tonight. “We mourn and we are suspending all [referendum] campaigning activities until the weekend as a mark of respect,” Corbyn said. “Hatred will never solve problems. Jo believed that.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson light candles as they attend a vigil in Parliament Square.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson light candles as they attend a vigil in Parliament Square. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Thanks to my colleagues Mark Tran and Andrew Sparrow earlier – Chris Johnston here with the latest developments on this tragic event.

Updated

Jo Cox made her first speech in the House of Commons on 3 June 2015, during a debate on “devolution and growth across Britain”.

Remembering Labour MP Jo Cox: her maiden speech to parliament

What we know so far

  • Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, has died after being shot and stabbed several times in her West Yorkshire constituency near her weekly advice surgery.
  • She was pronounced dead at 1.48pm by a doctor with paramedics at the scene.
  • A 52-year-old man has been arrested and police are investigating reports the suspect shouted “Britain first”, a possible reference to the far-right political party, as he launched the attack.
  • Cox’s husband Brendan issued a statement in which he said he “and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo”.
  • There was a further attack on a 77-year-old man, who has sustained injuries that are not life-threatening.
  • Terry Flynn-Edwards, who runs the Divine hair studio opposite the scene of the attack, said a man from a dry cleaners had tried to stop the assault. She said Cox “walked out of the library with her PA and he was waiting for her. He stabbed her first and this guy tried to stop him and then he shot her.”
  • Prime minister David Cameron called the death a tragedy and described Cox as a committed and caring MP. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Britain would be “in shock at the horrific murder” of the MP.

Updated

Nick Gannon, 33, who lived two doors down from Tommy Mair – the man named locally as the suspected killer – knew him since he was 10 years old.

“It’s shocking. He were a quiet guy, you would not think it of him. He would cut elderly people’s grass voluntarily. There were no reason to think he would be capable of something like this.

“He was friendly. If you said hello to him, he would say hello back. He was not aggressive or anything. He wasn’t frightening.”

Updated

Gabrielle Giffords, the US House of Representatives member who survived being shot in the head in 2011, has tweeted:

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband is the latest Labour figure to pay tribute to Jo Cox:

My heart breaks for the loss of Jo Cox and for Brendan and their kids. She was so full of life and joy. Words feel hopeless right now.”

He praised her husband’s “extraordinary dignity, love and compassion”, adding: “Brendan – we all stand with you and grieve with you.”

Updated

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has issued a statement in response to the death of Jo Cox.

This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned.

My thoughts this evening are with Jo Cox’s family - my heart breaks for them. Although I didn’t know Jo personally, I know she was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in Parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP.

My thoughts and condolences also go to Jo’s colleagues in the Labour party and to the many friends she had clearly made across the political spectrum.”

Updated

Tributes are coming not only from politicians but from charities – Jo Cox worked in the humanitarian field for many years. The interim chief executive of Save the Children, Tanya Steele, said:

Our heartfelt thoughts are with the family of Jo Cox. She has been a great friend and supporter of Save the Children fighting for the rights of children here in the UK and around the world. As a member of parliament, she was an outspoken advocate for the children of Syria. At this terrible time, our sincere condolences go to Jo’s husband Brendan, who was Save the Children’s director of policy and advocacy until last year.

Updated

Jo Cox made her maiden speech in June last year. The full text is here in the Yorkshire Post. In it she speaks with pride about her Yorkshire roots and discusses issues such as economic regeneration, the HS2 rail project and her commitment to the EU. Here is a flavour of what she said:

Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages. Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us...

Businesses in my constituency want help to address the skills mismatch at local level which leaves employers with staff shortages and young people without jobs. They want access to reliable sources of finance, including a network of local banks. They want to connect to a regional infrastructure that works for them, not rail price hikes of more than 126% and endless delays to key transport projects such as the electrification of the line from Manchester to Leeds. Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability of Britain’s continued membership of the European Union, a cause I look forward to championing passionately in this place and elsewhere...
I am Batley and Spen born and bred, and I could not be prouder of that. I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud of the things we make in Yorkshire. Britain should be proud of that, too. I look forward to representing the great people of Batley and Spen here over the next five years.

Gordon Brown says this is 'a devastating day – and a devastating blow to our democracy'

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, has put out this statement about the death of Jo Cox.

Our memories will be for ever scarred by this moment. Our hearts will always be hurt at our country’s loss.

Jo Cox was the most vivacious, personable, dynamic and committed friend you could ever have. Whenever you talked to her, the compassion in her eyes and the commitment in her soul shone through. Years of public service advancing the causes she cared passionately about should have been ahead of her.

Sarah and I were privileged to work with Jo and her husband Brendan over many years and in her tireless efforts on behalf of poor and desolate children and mothers. She went to some of the most dangerous places in the world. The last place she should have been in danger was in her home town.

People will say that this does not happen in Britain. This should not happen in Britain. And we must resolve that this will never again happen in Britain.

My and Sarah’s thoughts and prayers are with Brendan and their two young children Cuillin and Lejla this evening. They will have all our support in the difficult days ahead. For them and for those of us who were Jo’s friends, this is a devastating day. And it is a devastating blow to our democracy.

And this is from Sarah Brown, Gordon’s wife.

I am heartbroken. Jo had a truly remarkable spirit and passion that shone through in her work with Oxfam and with me on our countless campaigns for women and children.

Jo cared about everybody but she reserved a special place in her heart for the most vulnerable and the poorest citizens of the world.

She was fearless, she was endlessly upbeat and she reached out to so many to join her cause. Her mission was to make the world a better place.

But above all else Jo had utter devotion to her husband Brendan and their two children Cuillin and Lejla.

That’s all from me. My colleague Mark Tran is now taking over.

Updated

Jo Cox's husband Brendan: 'Jo believed in a better world and fought for it every day'

Brendan Cox, the MP’s husband, has issued a statement about her death. He says she would have wanted everyone to unite “to fight against the hatred that killed her”.

Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.

Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.

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 poisonous.

Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.

Updated

David Cameron has posted a further tribute on Twitter.

Here are some more of the tributes to Jo Cox from MPs and other British politicians on Twitter.

Here is David Cameron on the death of Jo Cox.

Here is a statement from Theresa May, the home secretary, on the death of Jo Cox.

West Yorkshire police chief's statement

Here is the statement by Dee Collins, the temporary chief constable of West Yorkshire police.

I’m now very sad to have to report that [Jo Cox] has died as a result of her injuries.

Before going into further detail I would like to express our deepest sympathies to her family and friends at this tragic time.

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 who sustained injuries that are non life threatening.

Shortly afterwards a man was arrested nearby by local uniformed police officers. Weapons, including a firearm, have also been recovered.

At 1.48pm Jo Cox was was pronounced deceased by a doctor who was working with a paramedic crew that were attending to her serious injuries.

This is a very significant investigation with large numbers of witnesses that have been spoken to by police at this time.

There is a large and significant crime scene and there is a large police presence in the area.

A full investigation is under way to establish the motive for this attack.

There are specifically trained officers with Jo’s immediate family who are fully aware of what has taken place and we would ask the media to respect their privacy at this very difficult time.

Additional officers are working in the local community this afternoon and evening in order to provide reassurance and support to our communties.

Clearly, as this inquiry is at an early stage and we have an individual under arrest, we are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time.

We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

Updated

And this is from Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader.

The whole of the Labour movement is devastated at Jo’s death. We have lost a colleague so young who had much more to contribute to public life. She was our future.

It is hard to comprehend how a compassionate, principled and beautiful person can be taken away from us so cruelly. It’s even more devastating because she was doing what she did best - serving her constituents.

We grieve her loss. Our love and prayers are with Brendan and Jo’s family.

Corbyn's tribute to Jo Cox

Jeremy Corbyn has issued this tribute to Jo Cox.

The whole of the Labour party and Labour family - and indeed the whole country - will be in shock at the horrific murder of Jo Cox today.

Jo had a lifelong record of public service and a deep commitment to humanity. She worked both for Oxfam and the anti-slavery charity, the Freedom Fund, before she was elected last year as MP for Batley and Spen – where she was born and grew up.

Jo was dedicated to getting us to live up to our promises to support the developing world and strengthen human rights – and she brought those values and principles with her when she became an MP.

Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve. It is a profoundly important cause for us all.

Jo was universally liked at Westminster, not just by her Labour colleagues, but across Parliament.

In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jo’s husband Brendan and their two young children. They will grow up without their mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved and what she stood for.

We send them our deepest condolences. 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.

Jo Cox.
Jo Cox. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Dee Collins says the police think this was a lone incident.

But high-visibility patrols are in the area.

And prominent individuals are being briefed, she says.

Updated

Dee Collins says the police are attending a number of scenes.

Q: Have you got the weapons?

Dee Collins says some weapons have been recovered.

Q: What can you say about reports the man shouted “Britain First”?

Dee Collins says she is not able to say at present. But the police want witnesses to come forward.

Q: Had Jo ever expressed worry about safety at her surgeries?

Not to my knowledge, says Burns-Williamson.

Mark Burns-Williamson, the West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner, expresses his condolences to Cox’s family. He says this was a localised incident.

Dee Collins says another person, a 77-year-old man, was attacked.

Jo Cox was declared dead by a doctor at the scene, she says.

She says the area is a crime scene and a full investigation is taking place.

She asks the media to respect the privacy of the victims’ family.

The inquiry is at an early stage, and an individual is under arrest. The police are not able to discuss motives at this time, she says.

Updated

Jo Cox has died, West Yorkshire police announce

Dee Collins, the temporary chief constable of West Yorkshire police, announces that Jo Cox has died.

Updated

West Yorkshire police are due to hold a press conference about the attack on Jo Cox shortly.

Updated

Here are some more MPs expressing support for Jo Cox on Twitter.

There was police activity shortly after the attack at a semi-detached house on the Fieldhead estate in Birstall. Thomas Mair, 52, is the registered occupier of the address, according to the electoral roll, Vikram Dodd, Nazia Parveen and Robert Booth report.

A police cordon surrounded the house as a helicopter circled overheard and forensic officers in boiler suits appeared to be searching the neat front garden, as well as around garages at the back of the well-maintained property.

Neighbours on the Fieldhead estate said the man had lived here 40 years with a female relative, who died a number of years ago, leaving him alone.

Kathleen Cooke, 62, said she and her daughter, Emma John, 30, had seen Mair half an hour before the attack.

“I looked out of the window at about 12.30 and he walked past a carrying his bag, wearing a cap. He looked perfectly calm and normal,” said John.

“He was a quiet person, kept himself to himself. We knew him around here from when he used to do our gardens,” said Cooke.

One woman, who gave her name just as Karen, said Mair did her mother’s garden regularly until a few years ago. He didn’t seem to have a job, she said.

Local teenagers said he was a quiet man unless they congregated on the wall behind his house, which he didn’t like. “He’d shout at us,” said a 17-year-old.

“All this we are hearing now is totally at odds with the man we thought we knew,” said one neighbour. “We knew him as someone who helped out, who did volunteering.”

Updated

Local resident Sam Watson told the BBC that people from nearby shops rushed to help. He said:

We were outside there and then we heard loads of screaming and then we looked down the corner. There were a woman lying behind a red car. And then when we looked over the road, some of the Sandwich and Co, from another sandwich shop across the road, were getting another man that was injured and bringing him into their shop.

And then the guy had a black hat on, and he was just casually walking away. He weren’t running - he was just walking. He walked up through the market.

Sam Watson.
Sam Watson. Photograph: BBC

Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, has cancelled an EU referendum speech he was due to give this evening following the attack on Jo Cox.

Here are some more expressions of support for Jo Cox from fellow MPs.

This is from BuzzFeed’s Emily Ashton.

What we know so far about the shooting of the Labour MP Jo Cox

  • The MP for Batley and Spen is in a critical condition after being shot and stabbed several times in her West Yorkshire constituency. Witnesses said the attack occurred after the MP became involved in an altercation involving two men near her weekly advice surgery. A Labour source confirmed Cox was shot and stabbed after she had concluded the drop-in session for constituents at about 1pm.
  • Cox suffered “serious injuries and is in a critical condition”. She was taken by helicopter to Leeds general infirmary.
  • Police also confirmed a man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby suffered slight injuries in the incident.
  • A 52-year-old man is under arrest. Police are also investigating reports the suspect shouted “Britain first”, a possible reference to the far-right political party, as he launched the attack.
  • A witness Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, who was in the cafe next door to the library shortly after 1pm, said the MP was involved in an argument between two men. He told PA a man in a baseball cap “suddenly pulled a gun from his bag” and after a brief scuffle with another man the MP became involved.
  • “He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor.” The whole incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, Abdallah said.
  • Another witness, Clarke Rothwell, who runs a nearby cafe, told the BBC he believed the MP had been shot and stabbed multiple times. He said: “Three times she was shot, the initial time which then she dropped to the floor and two more times. The third time he got close proximity he shot her round the head area. In the meantime he was stabbing her as well, he was stabbing her with his knife.”
  • A police spokesman said officers were called at 12.53 to Market Street, Birstall, “where a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries and is in a critical condition”.
  • He added: “A man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby also suffered slight injuries. Armed officers attended and a 52-year-old man was arrested in the area.”

Updated

The acting Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has tweeted about the attack on Jo Cox.

This translates as:

I condemn the terrible attack on the British representative Jo Cox. Violence has no place in democracy. I hope for her recovery. MR

Updated

This is from Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, Charlie Flanagan.

The fact that Ms Cox was attacked in this vicious way in the course of carrying out her duties for her constituents is deeply shocking.

The suspension of the remain and leave campaigns for today is an apt recognition that today’s horrific incident was an attack, not just on Ms Cox personally, but on the practice of democratic politics.

Updated

Nick Clegg, a longtime friend of Jo Cox’s, said his thoughts were with her and her family, friends and colleagues.

I am deeply shocked as someone who knows Jo. She is a lovely decent person, full of goodwill to everybody. My heart goes out to her and everybody affected.

But also it is such a vile affront to our democracy.

One of the great things about our democracy is that anybody can just wander in and see their MP in their weekly surgeries.

That violence against Jo, although that is the most important thing … is also violence against our democratic values and very proud democratic traditions.

And this is from the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale.

What is clear is that Jo Cox was attacked doing what politicians do most days when they are out-with parliament – holding a constituency surgery.

To be attacked like that is deeply alarming and very concerning.

Jo is a very active, good MP, everybody will be very concerned about her health.

We are collectively hoping and praying she is going to pull through.

Updated

Jo Cox’s fellow Labour MP Alison McGovern said: “Jo brought her dedication and her passion both for her home town and for the causes she had fought for all her life to parliament.”

She added that the kind of detailed, knowledgeable parliamentary questions asked by Cox underlined the fact that she used her expertise, including on development issues, to hold the government to account.

She’s that kind of clever, brilliant, committed person who uses parliament to stand up for the people in the world who most need us.

Updated

Brendan Cox, Jo’s husband, has posted this picture of her on Twitter within the last few minutes.

Terry Flynn-Edwards, who runs the Divine hair studio, opposite the scene of the attack, said a man from the dry cleaners had tried to stop the attack.

She said: “She walked out of the library with her PA and he was waiting for her. He stabbed her first and this guy tried to stop him and then he shot her.”

Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First, said the party was “looking into the reports right now”.

“We were extremely shocked to see these reports and we are keen to confirm them, because of course at the moment it is hearsay,” she said. “This has just been brought to our attention. This is absolutely not the kind of behaviour we would condone.”

Updated

The attack was near the library in Birstall.
The attack was near the library in Birstall.

Updated

Police investigating reports suspect shouted 'Britain First'

Police are also investigating reports the suspect shouted “Britain First”, a possible reference to the far-right political party, as he launched the attack, Vikram Dodd, Nazia Parveen and Robert Booth report.

Graeme Howard, 38, who lives in nearby Bond Street, told the Guardian he heard the man shout “Britain First” before the shooting and during the arrest.

Police were understood to be talking to at least one witness who claimed to have heard the attacker shout words about the rightwing group, and the motivation for the incident will form part of their inquiry.

“I heard the shot and I ran outside and saw some ladies from the cafe running out with towels,” he said. “There was loads of screaming and shouting and the police officers showed up.

“He was shouting Britain First when he was doing it and being arrested. He was pinned down by two police officers and she was taken away in an ambulance.”

Updated

And this is from Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission.

This is from Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury.

This is from Gordon Brown.

This is from the Press Association.

Birstall primary academy, which is a few streets away from where the shooting took place, said police had advised it to remain on lockdown, adding that staff and children are safe.

Norristhorpe junior & infant school, in the nearby village of Liversedge, said it was keeping children in school until they are collected by an adult, on the advice of Kirklees council.

Updated

David Cameron has cancelled his trip to Gibraltar in the light of the attack on Jo Cox.

This is from the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

The Press Association has filed this profile of Jo Cox.

In parliament for little over a year, Jo Cox has already carved out a reputation as a plain speaker and solid operator.

Relatively young by political standards, Cox is due to celebrate her 42nd birthday next Wednesday, and has been spoken of as a future minister.

Cox is a remain supporter in the referendum, and both official campaigns have suspended their operations as a mark of respect following the attack on her.

The MP for Batley and Spen, who is married with two children, graduated from Cambridge University in 1995 and went on to be head of policy for Oxfam, and work as an adviser for former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown’s wife, Sarah, and Lady Kinnock.

Cox has been a vocal advocate for the victims of the Syrian civil war and is chair of the all-party parliamentary Friends of Syria group.

The MP 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.

Chair of the Labour Women’s Network, Cox nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership contest last year, but voted for Blairite candidate Liz Kendall in the end.

Cox later said she regretted helping Corbyn get on the ballot paper, and pulled no punches after Labour’s poor performance in last month’s local and Scottish elections.

As the disappointing results rolled-in, Cox told the BBC: “Jeremy needs to personally recognise that this isn’t good enough.

“He needs to take responsibility, he needs to set out a route map to power in 2020, and let’s rally first and foremost around the EU referendum.

“We need to look very hard at what’s gone wrong in the last eight months and put it right.”

Asked if she expected a leadership challenge, Cox said: “Nobody is talking about that now and I don’t think it is the right course of action, but the clock is ticking.”

Cox was also an advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and to anti-slavery campaign group The Freedom Fund before entering parliament.

Despite growing up in the area, Tories attempted to paint Cox as a candidate “parachuted” into Batley and Spen during the 2015 contest because she and her family’s London home was a converted barge moored near Tower Bridge.

But Labour insisted the Tories suffered from “candidate envy” as Cox was registered to vote in the constituency and would divide her time between West Yorkshire and the capital if elected.

Cox secured a majority of 6,057 in the general election, and fellow Labour MP John Mann remarked: “She is one of the stars of the new intake.”

Updated

The BBC has been broadcasting this picture, which is believed to show the moment the suspect was arrested.

Dozens of MPs, from all parties, have been using Twitter to express their shock at what happened to Jo Cox and to offer their prayers and best wishes. Here are some of their tweets.

Updated

Witness describes shooting

Witness Clarke Rothwell told BBC News there was an altercation between a man carrying a gun and Cox.

He purposefully targeted her, said Rothwell, who runs the cafe next to the library where the incident took place.

He shot this lady and then shot her again.

He lent down. Someone was wrestling with him and he was wielding a knife and lunging at her. Three times she was shot.

People were trying to help her.

Then he ran off down a one-way street. Me and my mate drove round to try and find him.

Updated

The Labour MP John Mann told BBC that Jo Cox was an “absolutely outstanding” MP and that he was “totally shaken” by the attack.

She is one of the real stars of the new intake, not just on the Labour side but on all sides. She is hard working, eloquent, everyone likes her, she’s one of the real stars of the future.

Updated

Britain Stronger in Europe has also suspended campaigning for the day.

Updated

Here is more from the Press Association from Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, who was in the cafe next door to the library shortly after 1pm when he heard screaming and went outside.

Abdallah said the weapon looked handmade and that the man who had been wrestling with the assailant continued to do so even after he saw the gun.

He said: “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.”

The whole incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, Mr Abdallah said and another bystander told him she had also been stabbed.

He added: “He was kicking her and he was pulling her by her hair. A very courageous man from the dry cleaners tried to restrain him and he couldn’t stop him because all of a sudden he pulled a gun.

“She was a standing still target for him when he shot her.”

This is from the former Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Updated

This is from Mark Goldring, chief executive at Oxfam, where Jo Cox was head of policy before becoming an MP.

Oxfam is deeply shocked to hear the news. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Jo and her family at this difficult time.

Vote Leave have suspended their campaigning today. This is from Boris Johnson, who has been on the Vote Leave battlebus.

This is the scene of the shooting.

The scene of the shooting
The scene of the shooting. Photograph: BBC News

Here is Jeremy Corbyn commenting on the shooting.

These are from the BBC’s Phil Bodmer.

Jo Cox is married to Brendan Cox, a former Save the Children executive and special adviser to Gordon Brown.

A Labour party spokesman said:

We’re aware of the incident that happened this afternoon. All our thoughts are with Jo Cox and her family. We cannot give any further updates at this time.

The shopkeeper in a greengrocer opposite Birstall Library, Golden D’Licious, said that he believed the attacker had been waiting for the MP outside the library.

“I was inside the shop and all I heard was a scream and then the gun shot,” he said, without giving his name. “I went out and everyone was dispersing. I couldn’t see because it happened behind a car.”

This post has been removed while the information it contained is verified

Updated

According to a Labour source, Cox was shot and stabbed after she had conducted her morning surgery for constituents. Another person, who has not been identified, was also injured and both were taken to hospital, the source said. The attack was said to have taken place sometime after 1pm.

Police say 52-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident

Here is the statement from West Yorkshire police in full.

At 12.53 today, police were called to a report of an incident on Market Street, Birstall, where a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries and is in a critical condition.

A man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby also suffered slight injuries.

Armed officers attended and a 52-year-old man was arrested in the area. There are no further details at present.

Police presence in the area has been increased as a reassurance to the community.

Updated

According to the BBC, a man aged 52 has been arrested in connection with the incident.

And this is from the Labour mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

David Cameron has joined the many MPs who have already used Twitter to show their support for Cox.

More on the shooting from Sky.

This is from Cathy Killick, a reporter for BBC Look North.

This is from Malik Walton, who, according to his Twitter profile, is a cameraman.

More from the Press Association.

Cox’s assistant confirmed she had been attacked and said he was trying to get more information from police at the scene.

This is from the Press Association.

Eyewitness Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, was in the cafe next door to the library shortly after 1pm when he heard screaming and went outside.

He told the Press Association: “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.”

After a brief scuffle, he said the man stepped back and the MP became involved.

He added: “He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor.”

After around 15 minutes, the shop owner said emergency services arrived and tended to her with a drip.

Jo Cox was elected to the Commons in 2015 as MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire. Previously she had worked as head of policy for Oxfam. She nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership but, as with some other MPs, that was in the interest of allowing him to get on the ballot paper, not because she was a supporter. She voted for Liz Kendall.

A Cambridge graduate, she is 41 and married with two children.

Updated

This is what the Press Association has filed on the shooting.

Labour MP Jo Cox has been shot and injured in an attack in her constituency near Leeds.

An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother of two was left lying bleeding on the pavement after the incident in Birstall, West Yorkshire.

The attack took place near the town’s library where she held advice surgeries.

Cox was elected to the seat of Batley and Spen at the last general election in 2015.

West Yorkshire Police said: “There is an ongoing incident in Birstall”, while Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it was “aware” of an incident but had no further information.

This is from Sky’s Kay Burley.

Jo Cox has been taken by air ambulance to Leeds infirmary, the BBC is reporting.

According to the BBC, a primary school is in lockdown and a gunman may be on the loose near the shooting at Birstall.

This is from the BBC’s Allie Hodgkins-Brown.

Labour MP Jo Cox shot

The Press Association has just snapped this.

Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox has been shot in Birstall near Leeds, an eyewitness said.

Ukip poster condemned as 'immoral'

Britain Stronger in Europe has also condemned the Ukip poster. (See 12.01pm.) It has issued a news release with statements from MPs from four parties saying Ukip are wrong to exploit the refugee crisis in this way.

This is from Yvette Cooper, chair of Labour’s refugee taskforce.

Just when you thought leave campaigners couldn’t stoop any lower, they are now exploiting the misery of the Syrian refugee crisis in the most dishonest and immoral way.

Europe didn’t cause the Syrian refugee crisis and pulling out of the EU won’t stop people fleeing conflict and persecution by ISIS and the Assad regime.

All countries have a moral responsibility to help whether they are in the EU or not and the only way to deal with it is for countries to work together.

We rely on other EU countries doing asylum checks and coping with this crisis long before it ever reaches Britain’s shores - ripping up cooperation with the EU would make it much harder to stop the people smugglers, help refugees or prevent illegal migration. No country can cope with something like this alone.

The other statements, in a similar vein, are from the Green MP Caroline Lucas, the Lib Dem MP Tom Brake and the Conservative MP Neil Carmichael.

Updated

Green party condemns Ukip immigration poster as 'despicable'

The Green party has condemned the Ukip poster (see 12.01pm) as “despicable”. This is from the Green MEP Jean Lambert, the party’s migration spokeswoman and a Remain supporter.

This is a poster of shame from UKIP. Nigel Farage is deliberately confusing voluntary EU free movement with refugees fleeing from outside Europe – it’s despicable. The European Union is the best place for countries to act in solidarity and work together on solutions to shared challenges like the displacement of people. It is vital we don’t give in to this kind of fear and hate and that we vote to Remain in the EU.

Jean Lambert.
Jean Lambert. Photograph: Gerard Cerles/EPA

Back to the Ukip poster. (See 12.01pm.) On Twitter Connor Beaton points out that the image is similar to one he’s seen on a Nazi propaganda video.

And while we’re on the subject of trust, these figures are worth flagging up in the context of the latest warning from the Bank of England.

They show that, amongst Remain supporters, the Bank has a net trust rating of +34 (those who trust it minus those who don’t). But, amongst Leave supporters, its rating is -45.

Uh-oh. It turns out that, if David Cameron thought that wheeling out Jeremy Clarkson was going to help the Remain cause (see 12.48pm), the polling evidence suggests he was mistaken.

According to these YouGov figures, Clarkson is even less likely to be trusted on the EU than Cameron himself. The only figures on this list who poll worse are Tony Blair and Joey Essex.

One of the most senior figures in the Church of Scotland, the Rev Dr Richard Frazer, has said a leave vote would be a denial of the UK’s moral values and its global humanitarian role.

Frazer, convener of the church and society council of the Church of Scotland, which voted last month to restate its support for the EU, said Brexit campaigners were “playing a dangerous game” by blaming immigrants, refugees and EU costs for the country’s financial problems.

In an article endorsing a remain vote in next week’s referendum, Frazer, the minister at Grayfriars kirk in Edinburgh, said:

The European project is far from perfect, but in as much as it has successfully replaced bombs with bureaucrats it has enabled European citizens to enjoy unprecedented peace, stability and opportunity since the Second World War ...

To walk away would be a denial of the very humanitarian and moral values for which we stand as an active participant in global civil society.

Unbeknownst to Boris Johnson, one of the Vote Leave activists at the fish processing plant he visited earlier (see 9.52am) turns out to be a former fan of the English Defence League.

The supporter, who had an EDL tattoo on his neck, told the Mirror it was done years ago and he was not politically active before the leave campaign. Andy Reynolds, 47, said he backed Johnson’s message, adding: “The fishermen have been struggling for years so it’s good to see someone highlighting it now.”

Britain if it votes to stay in the European Union will no longer be a wallflower at EU meetings skulking in the corner but instead taking a new assertive leadership rule, Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary predicted today.

He claimed a core group of a dozen like minded countries were looking for leadership from the UK and in the wake of a referendum Remain vote, the UK will have a mandate to pursue its agenda on competitiveness and the single market.

He was speaking at the annual Chatham House think tank London conference at which many international diplomats and experts expressed deep alarm at the growing tribalism of international politics exemplified by the strong support for Brexit in the UK.

Hammond said the last thing the UK needed to do after a Victory for remain is to go back to business as usual.

We are the second largest economy in the EU and perhaps soon to be the largest. It is time we started to act like it. We have won most of the arguments about the direction of Europe’s future travel and started to shape Europe in our image of the future.

The days of the UK skulking in the corner – the wallflower at the EU dance - must be over. We must noisily and assertively fight for our interests and for our vision of the EU ‘s future championing reform and focussing on the economy.

Phillip Hammond.
Phillip Hammond. Photograph: Toby Melville / Reuters/REUTERS

Jeremy Hunt has claimed that the NHS would suffer “a Brexit hangover” if Britain votes to leave the EU.

Speaking at the annual conference in Manchester of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital managers, the health secretary rubbished as “utterly bogus” claims by Leave campaign leaders such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson that the health service would receive up to £8bn a year more in the event of Brexit.

Any suggestion that the NHS would see a dividend from leaving the EU is utterly bogus. The Institute for Fiscal Studies are very, very clear about this, that even if the entire net contribution to the EU of £120m a week is handed to the NHS, you would only need to see a contraction in GDP of 0.6% and those benefits would be totally wiped out.

Hunt was mostly preaching to the converted. No health organisation is backing Brexit and many, including the NHS Confederation itself, Royal College of Midwives and the Faculty of Public Health -- and this week the British Medical Journal -- are publicly backing the remain case.

Jeremy Hunt.
Jeremy Hunt. Photograph: Neil Hall/PA

Here’s a Guardian video with highlights from Gordon Brown’s speech this morning.

Vote Remain, Gordon Brown urges Labour supporters

Spain’s acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy said today that he hoped Britain stays in the EU but that he is unhappy about David Cameron visiting Gibraltar, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Speaking on Spanish National Radio, Rajoy said his government “doesn’t like the idea that Cameron should go to Gibraltar” but insisted that what is being debated is whether Britain stays in the European union, “as I hope it does.”

Cameron is making a two-hour visit to Gibraltar later today to seek votes to keep Britain in the EU in the June 23 referendum. Spanish media said it is the first visit to Gibraltar by a British premier in nearly 50 years.

Spain ceded Gibraltar’s sovereignty to Britain in a 1713 treaty but has persistently sought its return ever since. In the past, it has opposed visits by British royal family members to the territory.

Gibraltar’s 30,000 inhabitants are believed to be overwhelmingly on the “remain” side in the EU debate. They fear their access to the single European market could be blocked by a hostile Spanish government if Britain exits.

Rajoy said Spain has always viewed Gibraltar as Spanish regardless of the referendum, adding that the campaign should be carried out in Britain not Gibraltar.

Rajoy, who heads the conservative Popular party, is running Spain’s caretaker government following inconclusive elections in December. Spaniards are to vote in a repeat election June 26.

Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s acting prime minister.
Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s acting prime minister. Photograph: Javier Cebollada/EPA

Updated

Jeremy Clarkson on why he backs staying in the EU

Jeremy Clarkson announced that he was backing staying in the EU in his Sunday Times column (paywall) in March. Here’s an extract.

When Mr Cameron was touring Europe recently, seeking a better deal for Britain by sucking up to the leaders of such places as Romania and Hungary, I watched on YouTube an MEP called Daniel Hannan make an anti-EU speech to a group of, I think, students. It was brilliant. One of the best speeches I’ve ever heard. And, I’ll admit, it made me question my beliefs. But despite his clever, reasoned and passionate plea for us to leave Europe, I’m still in. He talked sense, but a lot of this debate is about how we feel.

In 1973 my parents held a Common Market party. They’d lived through the war, and for them it seemed a good idea to form closer ties with our endlessly troublesome neighbours. For me, however, it was a chance to make flags out of coloured felt and to eat exotic foods such as sausage and pasta. I felt very European that night, and I still do.

Whether I’m sitting in a railway concourse in Brussels or pottering down the canals of southwestern France or hurtling along a motorway in Croatia, I feel way more at home than I do when I’m trying to get something to eat in Dallas or Sacramento. I love Europe, and to me that’s important.

I’m the first to acknowledge that so far the EU hasn’t really worked. We still don’t have standardised electrical sockets, and every member state is still out for itself, not the common good. This is the sort of thing that causes many people to think, “Well, let’s just leave and look after ourselves in future.”

I get that. I really do. And after I’d watched Hannan’s speech, that’s briefly how I felt too. But, actually, isn’t it better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly? To create a United States of Europe that functions as well as the United States of America? With one army and one currency and one unifying set of values?

Britain, on its own, has little influence on the world stage. I think we are all agreed on that. But Europe, if it were well run and had cohesive, well thought-out policies, would be a tremendous force for good. I think we are all agreed on that as well. So how do we turn Europe from the shambles it is now into the beacon of civilisation that it could be in the future?

Nicola Sturgeon has again warned she could call a second Scottish independence referendum if the UK votes to leave the EU next week against the wishes of a majority of Scottish voters.

Speaking during first minister’s questions, she told Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale that if Brexit wins in a week’s time “against the democratically expressed will [of the Scottish people] that all options to protect our relationship with Europe and the EU will require to be explored.”

Dugdale asked Sturgeon three questions on the EU referendum, in clear breach of a ruling by Holyrood officials in May that as it was public body, the Scottish parliament was barred by purdah rules from debating the EU after purdah came into force on 27 May.

Dugdale had asked Sturgeon whether the Scottish government had any contingency plans under way to cope with the economic damage that George Osborne and leading economists predict would follow Brexit. The first minister sidestepped that question.

And her remarks were conditional and cautious: Alex Salmond her predecessor has said explicitly he wants a second referendum within two years of a Brexit vote. Sturgeon is widely thought to oppose that since a host of opinion polls show independence after Brexit does not yet have a commanding majority.

Nicola Sturgeon.
Nicola Sturgeon. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

My colleague Anushka Asthana has made a film about the impact of immigration on the EU referendum. It last eight minutes and you can watch it here.

Let’s talk about immigration

Jeremy Clarkson meets Cameron and backs Remain

With one week to go, and support for Leave surging, Remain are getting desperate. David Cameron has already wheeled out President Obama, the IMF, Angela Merkel, every living former prime minister, the Bank of England, the OECD, Jeremy Corbyn and God know who else - without much effect.

So, understandably, it seems they’ve decided to deploy the one secret weapon they’ve been holding back - Jeremy Clarkson.

Rather unexpectedly, Clarkson is a Remainer.

Here is the Press Association story about the photocall.

Jeremy Clarkson and James May have said Britain remaining in the EU is one of only three things they agree on.

The former Top Gear presenters were speaking as they met prime minister David Cameron in the west London office of their TV production company.

Clarkson said to the PM: “It’s an extraordinary thing that James and I only agree on three things, which is sandwich spread is delicious, the old Subaru Legacy Outback is a good car and Britain staying in.”

During an informal talk with Cameron over cappuccinos in Stronger In-branded mugs and croissants, Clarkson added: “I have not, with the greatest of respect, heard one politician say anything that’s caused me to change my mind.

“There’s huge numbers that don’t understand and get confused. Really, it’s my gut.”

Clarkson has previously declared being in favour of Remain, saying it would be “better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly”.

David Cameron meets Jeremy Clarkson and James May during an EU-related visit to W. Chump & Sons Ltd TV studio in west London.
David Cameron meets Jeremy Clarkson and James May during an EU-related visit to W. Chump & Sons Ltd TV studio in west London. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Bank of England says Brexit uncertainty is already slowing business activity

The minutes from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee yesterday are here (pdf).

They show that the Bank thinks uncertainty generated by the referendum has already had a dampening effect on the economy in some areas. The minutes say:

Monetary policy summary and minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting ending on 15 June 2016

Measures of uncertainty had increased further over the past month, with the UK a clear outlier internationally. And there had been growing evidence that uncertainty about the outcome of the referendum was leading to delays to major economic decisions that were costly or difficult to reverse. In the corporate sector, this included a sharp decline in the value of commercial real estate transactions and M&A, and reports of delayed business investment. Evidence from the Bank’s Agents had suggested increased delays in corporate decision making, which was corroborated by a Deloitte survey of chief financial officers. Survey information from Markit/CIPS and the BCC showed that for a material proportion of responding firms the referendum was having a detrimental effect on business activity, sometimes significantly so. Regarding households, both car purchases and residential housing activity had declined, although it was difficult to isolate the extent to which these effects related to the referendum or a more general underlying slowing.

Bank of England says pound could fall, 'perhaps sharply', if UK votes to leave EU

The Bank of England has issued a fresh warning about the impact of Brexit.

In a statement confirming the latest decision taken by the monetary policy committee to keep interest rates will remain unchanged, it says.

  • Bank of England says Brexit vote could lead to lower spending, lower investment, and higher unemployment.
  • It says pound could fall in value, “perhaps sharply”.
  • It says growth could slow, and inflation rise.

Here is the key quote.

As the Committee set out last month, the most significant risks to the MPC’s forecast concern the referendum. A vote to leave the EU could materially alter the outlook for output and inflation, and therefore the appropriate setting of monetary policy. Households could defer consumption and firms delay investment, lowering labour demand and causing unemployment to rise. Through financial market and confidence channels, there are also risks of adverse spill-overs to the global economy. At the same time, supply growth is likely to be lower over the forecast period, reflecting slower capital accumulation and the need to reallocate resources. Sterling is also likely to depreciate further, perhaps sharply. This combination of influences on demand, supply and the exchange rate could lead to a materially lower path for growth and a notably higher path for inflation than in the central projections set out in the May Inflation Report. In such circumstances, the MPC would face a trade-off between stabilising inflation on the one hand and output and employment on the other. The implications for the direction of monetary policy will depend on the relative magnitudes of the demand, supply and exchange rate effects. The MPC will take whatever action is needed, following the outcome of the referendum, to ensure that inflation expectations remain well anchored and inflation returns to the target over the appropriate horizon.

Sturgeon condemns new Ukip poster as "disgusting'

Ukip has unveiled a new EU referendum poster.

Nigel Farage launches a new Ukip poster.
Nigel Farage launches a new Ukip poster. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA

It is intended to make a point about immigration, but it uses a picture of refugees.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, has condemned the poster as “disgusting”.

Juncker says Brexit would start period of 'major uncertainty' for UK, EU and the world

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, has been speaking to journalists on a visit to Russia today. He says Brexit would usher in a period of “major uncertainty” for Britain, the EU and the world.

Jean-Claude Juncker speaks at the opening of the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Jean-Claude Juncker speaks at the opening of the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/TASS

The Corbyn event is now over. I will post a summary soon.

Corbyn's Q&A

Q: John McDonnell said today Labour should look again at the free movement of labour in the EU. Do you agree?

Corbyn says the EU depends on free movement of labour. He has set out plans for EU minimum standards. He thinks that is the way foward.

  • Corbyn dismisses calls to curb the EU’s free movement of labour rules.

Q: [From the Telegraph’s Michael Deacon] Why are so many Labour supporters planning to vote Leave?

Corbyn says people do not appreciate all that the EU has done. He also says there has been a “steady stream of anti-European sentiment” in the papers. Sarcastically, he says he does not include the Telegraph, which he says only has Europe’s best interests at heart. He says a fear strategy will not work. A positive strategy is needed. He says he has tried to set out one today.

Jeremy Corbyn.
Jeremy Corbyn. Photograph: Reuters

Updated

Corbyn is now wrapping up.

I have tried to set out today some of Labour vision for Remain and Reform in the European Union.

More importantly I hope I’ve been able to restore a bit of faith in what politics can do. If you have a decent government committed to making our country and our world a better place.

I encourage you all to vote Remain on 23 June and then to support our campaign for the changes we want to see here in Britain and across Europe.

Things can and, with your help, they will change.

Corbyn says Labour supports an EU-wide financial transaction tax

Corbyn says Labour should be supporting moves towards a financial transaction tax (aka, the Tobin tax, or Robin Hood tax).

There are currently 10 countries in Europe working together to secure a financial transactions tax across the European Union. This is a small tax on specific financial transactions to help prevent the sort of banking crash we saw a few years back, that led to the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s.

What was the British Government’s response to this proposal? To rush to Europe to oppose it, threatening legal action.

Labour wants to help drive this reform, to build support for an EU-wide tax as a step towards a global tax. We must reform our banking sector and discourage the dangerous practices that undermined the banks across Europe and globally.

The process is currently in a fragile state, despite the support of France and Germany, but imagine the impetus Britain’s support could give to the campaign, both in Europe and among major economies around the world.

  • Corbyn says Labour supports an EU-wide financial transaction tax.

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Corbyn calls for an EU-wide minimum wage and EU minimum standards on rights at work

Corbyn calls for new European standards on rights at work and minimum pay.

I mentioned the scandal of zero hours contracts earlier too. As well as outlawing these exploitative contracts in Britain, we should go further and work with our allies to establish a European minimum standard of rights at work to stop undercutting and give people the job security they need.

And now that Germany has introduced a minimum wage there is an opportunity to move towards a European-wide minimum wage – linked to average pay and the cost of living in each country to halt the race to the bottom in pay and conditions, and increase wages across Europe.

  • Corbyn calls for an EU-wide minimum wage and EU minimum standards on rights at work.

Corbyn is now talking about the posting of workers directive, which he has raised at least twice at PMQs.

There is a little known EU directive, for example, called the Posting of Workers Directive. It allows companies that win contracts in another part of Europe to take workers to other countries. They can post their workers abroad temporarily, rather than go through new recruitment processes.

But legal judgements have opened up loopholes meaning that these companies are able to undercut the going rate in one country by paying the going rate in another.

In extreme cases it has meant workers not being paid the minimum wage of the country they’re working in because it is above the rate of their home nation.

This loophole can and must be closed and there is a proposal on the table to do so. Labour would work to secure agreement from other countries to back it.

Corbyn says the UK should use its presidency of the EU next year to push for changes.

There are proposals now in Europe for country-by-country tax reporting, which means that companies pay their taxes in the countries where they make their profits.

Labour members of the European parliament have backed this plan every time, while Conservatives ones oppose it, time and time again.

Corbyn says Labour wants the UK to remain in the EU, but in a reformed EU.

Labour is calling for a vote to remain in Europe at next week’s referendum because we believe staying in the European Union offers our people a better future in terms of jobs, investment, rights at work and environmental protection.

But we are also campaigning for reform of the European Union because we are convinced Europe needs to change to work for all, to become more democratic, strengthen workers’ rights, ditch austerity and end the pressure to privatisation.

Corbyn says local authorities should be able to run local energy companies.

Many of you from this part of South Yorkshire will remember that miners used to get free coal. In Denmark, Portugal and Germany today communities are setting up energy companies which sell electricity back to them at discounted rates. But ridiculously, it’s illegal to do that here.

We need to learn from the best in Europe.

Corbyn turns to immigration, and he says he challenged David Cameron in the Commons yesterday to explain why he was not taking action to stop firms advertising jobs abroad but not in the UK.

And if we want to stop insecurity at work and the exploitation of zero hours contracts that are being used to drive down pay and conditions, why don’t we do what other European countries have done and simply ban them?

Zero hours contracts are not allowed in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Spain. It seems we’re the odd one out. Our politicians now in power are choosing not to tackle exploitation, but we will.

Corbyn condemns the Tory record on tax avoidance and excessive pay.

Does anyone here own an offshore trust? Do any of your family or friends own an offshore trust? So who was David Cameron standing up for when he wrote to the EU in November 2013 opposing proposals transparency into who owns these shady offshore trusts?

From cuts to disability benefits and cuts tax credits, to tax breaks for the super-rich and corporations. We have a government making the wrong choices and sticking up for the wrong people.

Or take another example, a couple of years ago, the EU also came forward with a proposal to restrict bankers’ bonuses and what did George Osborne do? Again he rushed to Brussels within an army of taxpayer-funded lawyers to oppose it and he lost.

Corbyn attacks the Tory Brexiteers, saying they have made bogus spending promises and that they are not to be trusted on the NHS.

He criticises the changes introduced by the Tories in the 1980s and early 1990s.

It was those same governments of the 1980s and early 90s that deregulated the labour market so that zero hours contracts could flourish and the share of wealth going to workers fell off a cliff. It is unscrupulous employers and politicians who have allowed temporary contracts, agency and enforced part-time working, and bogus self-employment to mushroom. So blame the politicians who opened the door to rampant job insecurity.

Corbyn is speaking at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield.

He says he wants to try to restore some faith in politics.

Not many people are grateful for the work politicians do. I don’t have any difficulty understanding why, the political class has let our country down in so many ways, but today I want to try and restore a bit of faith in politics, and set out how politics done in a different way, can improve our lives and our communities.

Politicians are failing to address the problems facing modern workers, he says.

The insecurity of work the lack of good well-paid jobs, the high cost of housing, whether to rent or to buy, how we adjust to, and pay for, an ageing society, the failure to ensure decent economic growth in all parts of the country and in which we all share.

That is the failure of politicians, not of the EU or of EU migrants for that matter.

Too many voices in this debate are only playing that old trick the blame game. And when politicians play the blame game, it’s usually because they have nothing serious to offer themselves.

Jeremy Corbyn's EU speech

Jeremy Corbyn is delivering his EU speech now. There is a live feed at the top of this blog.

Poll suggests more people think Brexit will make them better off than worse off after 5 years

Here are some more findings from the Ipsos MORI phone poll reported in the Evening Standard.

The underlying findings are probably even more worrying for Remain than the headline numbers. That is because they show that Remain’s key message - that leaving the EU would be bad for the economy - is failing to make an impact, because people don’t believe they will be worse off.

The poll also shows that, amazingly, people are more likely to believe the Vote Leave claim that EU membership costs £350m than to disbelieve it - even though it is had been comprehensively dismissed as misleading at best, or outright dishonest at worst, by just about every economic authority there is. This finding alone is devastating for the factchecking industry. They must be wondering now what’s the point.

  • Some 31% of people think they will be better off in five years time if the UK leaves the EU. Only 18% think they will be better off if the UK stays in.
  • Immigration is now the most important issue in the campaign. It is cited as very important by 33% of people (up five points from last month), with the economy in second place (down five points).
  • Almost half of voters (47%) do believe Vote Leave’s claim that Britain sends £350m a week to the EU. Another 39% do not believe it is true.
  • Some 70% of people do not believe George Osborne’s claim that households will eventually be £4,300 worse off if the UK leaves the EU. Only 17% of people do believe this. Even among Remain supporters, more than half think the claim is not true.
  • Some 48% of people think the UK will be liable for future eurozone bailouts if it stays in the EU, even though David Cameron says the renegotiation deal he achieved specifically rules this out. Only 40% accept what Cameron says and believe the claim that Britain would be liable is untrue.=
  • People are split 45%/45% on whether Turkey will be fast-tracked to EU membership - even though this is a claim that Cameron has also specifically denied.
  • But there is little support for Nigel Farage’s claim that staying in the EU would increase the risk of sex attacks by migrants. Only 28% think this is true; 62% think this is false.
  • Some 59% of people do not believe Cameron’s claim that leaving the EU would put peace and stability at risk. Some 32% do believe this is the case.

Updated

McDonnell says the problems facing the world are international ones that require international solutions.

The live feed has now gone down, but I will post some more from the speech when I get some words.

McDonnell says the Leave campaign have taken the debate into the political gutter.

He says some on the Leave side, including Boris Johnson, have decided where they stand on the EU “purely on the basis of their future ambitions”.

The Tory infighting has squeezed out the Labour voice in the campaign, he says.

But he says it is now clear that the Labour family has come together and that it is united in campaigning for Remain.

And it is important to stress that it would be a Tory Brexit, he says. A Tory government would use it as an opportunity to cut rights.

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is speaking now at the Labour rally.

He says he and Gordon Brown last stood on a platform together in 2007, when he wanted to challenge Brown for the Labour leadership.

This week is critical, McDonnell says.

There are 10 or 15% of people who have not made their minds up. And there is another 10/15% who are not sure. So there is “all to play for”, he says.

He says the debate has not matched the importance of what is at stake.

John McDonnell.
John McDonnell. Photograph: Reuters

Sir Richard Leese, the Labour leader of Manchester city council, is speaking now at the Labour event.

He says the EU has contributed to a new transport scheme in the city.

There has been a revival in the great cities in Britain, he says. He says EU funding has helped to enable this renovation to happen.

Sir Richard Leese.
Sir Richard Leese. Photograph: Reuters

Brown says the EU has helped to guarantee peace in Europe.

He talks about the way the EU cooperated when Eastern Europe fell. And think about what more the EU could achieve do deal with the problems facing the world, like hunger and poverty, if it cooperated further, he says in his peroration.

It was a powerful end to a speech which mostly was a repeat of one that Brown has already made several times over recent weeks on the campaign trail. I will post some quotes soon.

Brown says all his political career he has campaigned for jobs. And there is no route to full employment for the UK that does not involve EU membership, he says.

Gordon Brown and John McDonnell speak at Labour In rally

Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, are speaking at a Labour In for Britain rally in Manchester now.

They are on opposite wings of the party, and McDonnell tried to challenge Brown for the leadership in 2007, although he could not get enough nominations to force a contest. But they are both speaking in favour of Remain.

Brown is speaking now.

He says Labour has been saying for years the NHS is under-funded. Now Tories are saying that. And Labour has been saying for years you cannot trust the Tories on the NHS. Now even Tories are saying that.

Gordon Brown at the Labour In for Britain rally in Manchester
Gordon Brown at the Labour In for Britain rally in Manchester Photograph: Reuters

Ipsos MORI poll gives Leave a 6-point lead

A new Ipsos MORI poll for the Evening Standard gives Leave a six-point lead. Here’s an extract from the story.

In a dramatic turnaround since May, some 53 per cent now want to leave and 47 per cent want to stay, excluding don’t knows.

It is the first time since David Cameron pledged the referendum in January 2013 that Vote Leave have come out ahead in the respected monthly Ipsos MORI telephone survey, which is exclusive to the Evening Standard.

And the Dutch seem to be keen on the UK staying too, if this is anything go to by.

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish acting prime minister, has taken to Twitter this morning to say he wants the UK to stay in the EU.

According to Google, this translates into English as:

The #Brexit would be a step backwards in the European process. We want UK continue in Europe and continue strengthening the EU #RajoyenRNE

Updated

Boris Johnson was up early this morning to visit a fish processing unit in Lowestoft in Suffolk, where he once again denied having ambitions to be prime minister.

Flanked by Vote Leave supporters, he held up a salmon and declared the EU was “pinching our fish”.

Urged by one worker, John Knights, to become prime minister, he replied: “No that’s not going to happen.”

Speaking outside the factory, George Eustice, the fishing minister and Vote Leave supporter, said he wanted to revert to the international rules that mean the UK would control fishing rights for 200 miles around the coastline.

But he acknowledged a new deal would have to be struck to allow reciprocal arrangements with other countries, rather than stopping foreign boats coming into UK waters.

“I would see the reestablishment of international law as the starting point for a renegotiation of both access rights and quota allocations,” Eustice said.

Both he and Johnson claimed leaving the EU would help rejuvenate coastal towns like Lowestoft, while admitting it would not happen overnight.

Christine Blowers, 63, a Vote Leave activist who had turned out at 7am to greet Johnson, said she would advise her grandchildren to move to Australia if the UK decides to remain.

“We want another election. To threaten elderly people! We could be threatened but we are not because we’ve lost everything. What else can we lose? We’ve lost livelihoods and our industry. Boris Johnson or Gove, we’re not bothered which. But someone who cares enough to rebuild us,” she said.

George Eustice (left) and Boris Johnson at the Sam Cole Foods fish processing factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
George Eustice (left) and Boris Johnson at the Sam Cole Foods fish processing factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Boris Johnson was up early this morning for a Vote Leave visit to a fish processing factory in Lowestoft.

I have not seen any words yet from the visit, but the photographs are a treat. If this was a contest about posing for silly pictures, Leave would obviously win by a mile. Ruth Davidson is now slouch in this field, but Johnson seems determined to do better.

Boris Johnson at Sam Cole Foods fish processing factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
Boris Johnson at Sam Cole Foods fish processing factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Boris Johnson with a fish.
Boris Johnson with a fish. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Johnson tries his hand at slicing a fish.
Johnson tries his hand at slicing a fish. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Johnson in a silly face competition with a dead fish?
Johnson in a silly face competition with a dead fish? Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Updated

Alistair Darling, the Labour former chancellor, has accused the Tory MP Bernard Jenkin of trying to muzzle the Bank of England. Responding to the BBC’s story about Jenkin’s letter to the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney (see 9.02am), Darling said in a statement issued by Britain Stronger in Europe:

This is a blatant attempt to muzzle a respected independent voice.

The Bank of England is independent, the governor is independent and he has a duty to say what he thinks.

It is very clear the Leave campaign doesn’t want people to hear what the Bank has to say on the most critical issue facing our generation because they don’t like its conclusions.

Alistair Darling (right) with George Osborne at a Remain event at the Hitachi Rail Europe plant on Wednesday.
Alistair Darling (right) with George Osborne at a Remain event at the Hitachi Rail Europe plant on Wednesday. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images

Here’s a Britain Stronger in Europe spokesman responding to the Telegraph article by Nigel Lawson, Norman Lamont, Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith accusing the Treasury and the Bank of England of a “woeful failure” to offer a fair analysis of what might happen in the event of Brexit.

(The online article has just got Howard and Duncan Smith’s bylines on it, but in the paper all four men are credited with authorship.)

A Britain Stronger in Europe spokesman said:

This is yet more fantasy economics from the Leave campaign. The reason they don’t want to listen to economic experts is because they are all agreed that leaving the EU would wreck our economy and hammer family finances.

Bank of England governor hits back after Tory MP tries to silence him over Brexit dangers

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.

The BBC’s Kamal Ahmed has a good story this morning, about a robust exchange of letters between Bernard Jenkin, the pro-Brexit Tory MP and chair of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee, and Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.

Jenkin wrote to Carney effectively trying to silence him during the purdah period in the run-up to the referendum, when civil servants are expected to avoid getting involved. Jenkin said:

You are prohibited from making any public comment, or doing anything which could be construed as taking part in the referendum debate.

I have taken legal advice from Speakers’ counsel . . . [and] wanted to take the opportunity to stress the importance of this matter.

I very much hope you will avoid doing anything which could suggest you or the Bank have disregarded parliament’s wishes.

According to Ahmed, the Bank saw the letter as a “threat” and Carney wrote a robust reply. He said that he had not expressed his personal views on the referendum but that the Bank had a duty to present its “evidence-based judgments” to the public. Carney said:

All of the public comments that I, or other Bank officials, have made regarding issues related to the referendum have been limited to factors that affect the Bank’s statutory responsibilities and have been entirely consistent with our remits.

Carney also said the Bank was not covered by purdah rules, but that he had voluntarily agreed to be bound by them.

Pro-Brexit MPs are angry with Carney because he has repeatedly highlighted the Bank’s view that leaving the EU could harm the economy, not least in an interview with Andrew Marr last month (pdf).

Mark Carney on the Andrew Marr Show last month.
Mark Carney on the Andrew Marr Show last month. Photograph: Handout/Getty Images

Cameron visits Gibraltar

It looks as if David Cameron is off to Gibraltar today to make the case for the EU there.

Ashley Fox, the Conservative MEP for south-west England and Gibraltar, says:

Spanish newspaper El Pais says it will be the first visit by a British prime minister since 1968:

Former Conservative party leader Lord (Michael) Howard has been on Sky News, continuing the theme of the letter he, Iain Duncan Smith and Lords Lamont and Lawson have in the Telegraph this morning criticising what they call “a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis” in the referendum campaign.

Howard told Sky News:

I think it’s a great pity, frankly, that the government have tried to drag the Bank of England into this debate.

It would have been much better if the Bank of England – which after all is going to have to work with a situation whatever it is after the vote – had stood aloof from the debate and remained completely impartial.

But he said he still backed David Cameron as prime minister, and gave George Osborne some tepid support:

I haven’t lost all my admiration for him.

If that wasn’t enough Question Time for you, by the way, the regular programme is on this evening – regular in that it’s a panel, rather than a one-on-one with Dimbleby, but not regular in that there will likely be only one theme: the football.

Ha, no: the referendum.

Expect education secretary Nicky Morgan, Labour In lead Alan Johnson and boat-botherer Bob Geldof for remain; economist Ruth Lea, former Labour MP Tom Harris and prolific tweeter Louise Mensch for leave.

Michael Gove, in his BBC Question Time interview last night, pointed the finger at the Guardian, which he said had “tried to put words in [the] mouth” of his father, Ernest Gove.

Gove Snr had earlier told the Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, that he had sold the family’s fish processing firm in Aberdeen – contradicting claims from his politician son that European regulation had forced the company to close:

I saw my father lose his job, I saw his business go to the wall, I saw 24 people who he employed also lose their jobs.

Ernest Gove told the Guardian:

It wasn’t any hardship or things like that. I just decided to call it a day and sold up my business and went on to work with someone else.

Michael Gove insisted yesterday:

My dad was rung up by a reporter from the Guardian who tried to put words into his mouth but my dad has been clear, he was clear to the BBC on Sunday night, he was clear to me when I was a boy, that the business that he invested so much care and time in had to close as a result of the common fisheries policy.

You can read the transcript of the interview with Ernest Gove here.

David Dimbleby and Michael Gove on the set of Question Time at the Albert Hall, Nottingham.
David Dimbleby and Michael Gove on the set of Question Time at the Albert Hall, Nottingham. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA

Updated

The prime minister is unimpressed with the latest intervention by two of his predecessors as Tory party leader.

Lord Howard and Iain Duncan Smith, along with former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson, said in a letter to the Telegraph:

There has been startling dishonesty in the economic debate, with a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis.

They have been peddling phoney forecasts and scare stories to back up the attempts of David Cameron and George Osborne to frighten the electorate into voting Remain.

Cameron has hit back this morning:

No real surprises here, but we have another handful of press declaring whether they’re for In or Out.

The Spectator is for Brexit: “Out and into the world.”

The New Statesman says remain, as does the Voice, which says a vote to stay in the EU “is a decision to protect the rights of black workers, challenge discrimination and stop families being torn apart”.

And the Financial Times is also for In.

Its editor Lionel Barber told the Today programme:

There will be a political crisis in this country if we vote no – I can’t see David Cameron surviving.

There will be a shock to the economy … but I think people are underestimating the severity of the shock.

Morning briefing

With just one week to go until voters cast their crosses to stay or go, our daily EU referendum live blog is here to get your morning started.

I’m putting together the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat. Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.

The big picture

How to describe Wednesday, a day when Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof staged a naval battle on the Thames? My colleague Robert Booth was there and sums up the spectacle neatly:

Before it was over, Farage’s flotilla of angry trawlermen campaigning for leave had drenched Geldof’s boat with hoses and angrily boarded it midstream to the dismay of the river authorities. Geldof’s boat almost shredded the eardrums of those on Farage’s vessel with a high decibel blast of 60s pop music; Geldof called Farage “a fraud” and flicked him the V sign.

Nigel Farage Joins Fishing For Leave On A Flotilla Down The Thames.
Knowing me Nigel Farage, knowing you London: AHA! Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

The flotilla farrago also had the side-effect of sinking George Osborne’s sounding of the alarm over what he said would be a £30bn black hole in the UK’s public finances post-Brexit. That and the flurry of angry Tory MPs who said they would refuse to back a “punishment” budget that the chancellor threatened could bump up income tax rates and slash spending on schools and hospitals.

In a letter to the Telegraph this morning, former party leaders Lord Howard and Iain Duncan Smith, and former chancellors Lord Lawson and Lord Lamont lambast what they call the “startling dishonesty”, “phoney forecasts” and “ludicrous scaremongering” of remain campaigners on the economy. (It doesn’t mention that £350m figure, mind.)

A separate letter signed by 65 MPs, including six former cabinet ministers – Duncan Smith again, Liam Fox, Owen Paterson, David Jones, John Redwood and Cheryl Gillan – warns:

If the chancellor is serious, then we cannot possibly allow this to go ahead. It would be unnecessary, wrong and a rejection of the platform on which we all stood. If he were to proceed with these proposals, the chancellor’s position would become untenable.

Lead Brexiteer Michael Gove said he wouldn’t sign the letter – but only because he believed such a budget would never happen. In his BBC Question Time interview last night, he told David Dimbleby:

There is no need for an emergency budget. The truth is, if we vote to leave we will be in an economically stronger position.

(For more on Gove on BBCQT, see the Guardian columnists’ verdicts here and Andrew Sparrow’s at-a-glance summary here.)

Some Tories remain with remain, however, and today the home secretary Theresa May – up till now a quiet figure in the campaign – along with cabinet colleagues Nicky Morgan, Liz Truss, Amber Rudd and Justine Greening will argue that female voters can “be the decisive voice in this referendum”. It’s not about so-called women’s issues, though, which – according to the Telegraph – Morgan, for one, has “never believed in”:

We are just as concerned as men about our economy, defence capability and the influence we wield as a nation on the global stage.

Theresa May: ‘I see the difference it makes being a member of the EU.’
Theresa May: ‘I see the difference it makes being a member of the EU.’ Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Much of the action today leaves London behind – I know! It does happen sometimes – and heads north, where Gordon Brown is speaking in Manchester; and then even further north, where rival rallies are taking place in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Brown, alongside shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, will say that the economies of the UK’s 10 biggest cities outside the capital – Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – are at risk if Britain opts to leave the UK:

European money is necessary for renovation, renewal and regeneration – and right across the north, Scotland and Wales it is still vitally needed now.

And Kinnock will resurrect one of his most notable riffs, albeit in rather less catchy form:

I warn you not to be on low or middle incomes as the disruption brought by Brexit pushes up interest rates and prices, slashes benefits, and causes slump. I warn you not to expect work, as uncertainty causes investment to move to the single market which we would be leaving.

You should also know:

London mayor Sadiq Khan (L) and Rosena Allin-Khan, a doctor and local Labour councillor selected to stand in Tooting after Sadiq Khan became London mayor, chat with pupils during an assembly as they visit to Trinity St Mary’s Primary School in Balham on June 6, 2016 in London, England. Mrs Allin-Khan will stand in the by election on 16 June that was triggered when Mr Khan became London mayor. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
Rosena Allin-Khan: endorsed by Sadiq Khan. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

Poll position

A fresh BMG Research poll, commissioned by the Electoral Reform Society, finds only 62% of voters say they will definitely cast a ballot next week. There’s a chasm between wealthier voters (67% say they’ll certainly vote) and poorer ones (just 55%).

It also found that 22% of voters felt “well” or “very well” informed about the referendum. Would it cheer you up if I told you that’s a rise of six percentage points since the same question was polled in February?

The chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, Katie Ghose, said:

These findings are deeply concerning, and show there is a real risk of a low turnout and a demographic divide when voters go to the ballot box …

A poor turnout alongside a close result poses the risk that people will view the decision as inconclusive, and we could see calls for further referendums or questioning of the validity of the result from either side. The last thing anyone wants to see is a contested and challenged outcome.

New poll idea: how many more months of this would you tolerate?

Diary

Gisela Stuart.
  • At 10am Gordon Brown and Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell speak at a Labour In event in Manchester.
  • Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appears with the Scottish party leader Willie Rennie alongside Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale at a rally in Edinburgh hosted by the European Movement in Scotland.
  • And Scottish Brexit campaigners stage a rally in Glasgow with Vote Leave chairwoman Gisela Stuart.
  • George Osborne is back again, with a Mansion House speech in the City of London.

Read these

How did the referendum campaign go so wrong for Labour, asks George Eaton in the New Statesman:

Inside Labour, the blame is already being liberally distributed. Some identify Corbyn as the chief culprit. Recent polling showed that nearly half of the party’s voters were uncertain of its position on the EU. This, MPs suggest, owes much to the Labour leader’s limited enthusiasm for the cause … Yet there is no truth in the claim that the lifelong Eurosceptic is a secret Brexiter. “I’ve had private conversations with him. He is convinced that voting Remain is the right thing to do,” a shadow cabinet minister told me …

But Corbyn is not the only senior figure blamed for the drift towards Brexit. Alan Johnson, the head of the Labour In campaign, is accused of ‘low energy’ performances. Others cite the media’s fixation with ‘blue-on-blue’ Conservative clashes. One senior MP suggested that the BBC could be ‘in breach of its legal duties’ by ‘focusing on personalities, not issues’.

Jenni Russell in the Times says hard-won freedoms are at stake:

We don’t realise the fragility of our liberal societies and the need to protect them. The European project has been a conscious effort to spread its core values, from democracy to human rights. It has worked; central European and Baltic states could only join once they had adopted them. Walking away from Europe now is akin to storming out of the house you share with your exasperating, difficult relatives …

The cavalier foolishness with which Leavers think they can rip Britain out of Europe and yet trust that everything else they value — trade, intelligence sharing, stability, goodwill — will stay the same amazes me. Privately the Europeans, led by Germany, are explicit that if we go Europe will close ranks against us. They must. They cannot afford to prioritise selling us BMWs above the survival of the union. They have to make clear to other nationalist parties tempted to follow the UK that there will be no preferential treatment, only harsh consequences. If we reject our neighbours, they will have to reject us.

Proving that Brexit knows no boundaries (ironic, I know), here’s the New Zealand Herald’s Griff White with four models of how Britain could look outside the EU.

Baffling claim of the day

The Spectator has a poll on whether we can trust polls and it’s hard to know what to think of that.

The Spectator runs a poll on whether UK voters can trust polls, ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June.

Celebrity endorsement of the day

A joyous Twitter thread, this, from Peep Show star Robert Webb (himself for remain), who spent a good few hours figuring out how each of the characters from the show would vote next week. If I posted the whole thread, the “brief” part of this morning briefing would be severely compromised, but do look it up:

David Mitchell as Mark and Robert Webb as Jeremy in Peep Show
David Mitchell as Mark (a cautious Remainer) and Robert Webb as Jeremy (a shake-this-shit-up Leaver) in Channel 4’s Peep Show. Photograph: Angus Young/Channel 4

The day in a tweet

Intriguing. Vote Leave has been condemned for its “We send the EU £350m a week – let’s fund our NHS instead” slogan (Angela Eagle called it a “lie”). But a u-turn seems … unlikely. Expect a fightback.

If today were a song ...

It would be Craig David’s Seven Days. That’s all we have left of this campaign. And David aficionados will know what they’re supposed to be doing today. Ahem.

And another thing

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