Thomas Mair charged with murder
Thomas Mair has been charged with the murder of Jo Cox MP, West Yorkshire police have said.
In a statement released shortly before 1am on Saturday, Det Supt Nick Wallen, who is leading the investigation, said: “We have now charged a man with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.
“Thomas Mair, 52, of Birstall, will appear at Westminster magistrates court today (Saturday 18 June).”
Updated
Britain remembers Jo Cox as police investigate suspected killer's far-right links
Vigils have been held across the UK after the killing of the Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox on Thursday. The leaders of the Labour and Conservative parties stood together in the West Yorkshire town of Birstall to pay tribute to her.
After neo-Nazi literature was found at the home of Tommy Mair, the man suspected of killing Cox, police said that his apparent links to far-right groups would form a “priority line of inquiry”. Officers said they would also look into claims surrounding his mental health.
As EU referendum campaigning was suspended, the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Ukip all said they would not put up candidates in the eventual byelection that will be held in Cox’s constituency. The Green party also said it was unlikely to field a candidate.
Late in the evening, it emerged that Barack Obama had contacted Cox’s bereaved husband Brendan to pass on the condolences of the American people.
A fund to raise money for the causes for which Cox fought has been set up and reached more than £200,000 on its first day.
Reuters, citing the White House, is reporting that the US President Barack Obama called Jo Cox’s husband Brendan from Air Force One today to offer his condolences on behalf of the American people.
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that several female MPs had written to Downing Street and the parliamentary authorities warning that an MP could be killed if security was not improved.
Saturday's Daily Telegraph front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 17, 2016
Women MPs had warned of threat of fatal attack#Tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/B5Rku2bwKu
On the front page of its Saturday edition, the paper reports that one of the MPs who raised the issue had pleaded directly to the prime minister. It says that friends of Jo Cox revealed that she had talked recently about the “increasing nature of hostility and aggression” towards female MPs.
According to the Telegraph, No 10 responded to the story by saying that David Cameron had replied personally to the MP who wrote to him and referred the matter to the home secretary.
Updated
Vigils have also been held in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Addressing the crowd in George Square, Glasgow, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale paid tribute to someone she said was “the very definition of a moral crusade, wrapped up in humour and love”.
The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, also attended the vigil, which started with a minute’s silence among the 300-strong crowd. A book of condolence was opened for people to pay their respects.
George Square, Glasgow. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Sturgeon embraced the Scottish Labour leader before taking to the podium to pay tribute: “I didn’t know Jo personally, but given everything I’ve read over the past 24 hours, I’m deeply sorry that I didn’t have the opportunity to know her because she clearly was an inspiration to everybody whose lives she touched.”
The event in Edinburgh was attended by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Labour MP Ian Murray.
A vigil is due to be held in Belfast at midday on Sunday outside the City Hall, the Labour party in Northern Ireland said.
Updated
At least a thousand people crammed into a banqueting hall at a Muslim community centre in Batley on Friday night to pay tribute to Jo Cox.
Lady Warsi was one speaker to reminisce warmly about her time with Cox, who persuaded her during the 2015 election to take part in an event about Islamophobia. “It takes a certain kind of Labour politician to convince the ex-chairman of the Conservative party to share a platform with her weeks before the general election, and to praise her for the work that she was doing. But that was Jo; working above the fray, across the political divide. She reminded us, many of us, why we entered politics. She allowed us to believe that we could make a difference and that we could change things,” said Warsi.
Stuart Andrew, Conservative MP for nearby Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough, said Cox formed numerous friendships across party lines. “I first met Jo almost immediately after the general election. We were both asked to appear on the Sunday Politics show. I was taken by the BBC to the makeup room. She was having her makeup done and she instantly smiled at me and I knew within those first few seconds that this was a person I was going to enjoy knowing. She was so warm and so kind. In fact, I think the producers of the programme were a bit disappointed because we got on so well,” he said.
“From that moment on, every time I saw Jo – in a meeting in parliament or passing her in a corridor or whether it be at prime minister’s questions on the opposite side of the chamber, we would look at each other and smile.”
Various men from the local Muslim community paid tribute to Cox. Iqbal Bhana, deputy chair of the Al Hickmah centre, where the event was held, warned the audience that he may struggle to “keep it together” as he delivered his tribute, in which he recalled how Cox would always greet him with a hug: “My wife doesn’t even normally do that.”
Updated
A two-minute silence in memory of Jo Cox has just been held in Parliament Square, in central London, followed by tributes paid to her by her fellow Labour MPs Wes Streeting, Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband.
Miliband talked of pledging to “honour her (Cox’s) legacy”. He said: “Jo Cox only loved, she never hated. Tonight, from this square, we send our love to her husband Brendan, her two children and her family. And let us honour her memory by building a world where there is more love and less hate.”
Harman said those present were “showing you mourn the loss of Jo Cox and mourn the tragic loss for her two children of their irreplaceable mother. And you show too your admiration for what she stood for”.
Cox’s fellow Commons newcomer, Streeting, said: “The solidarity we have seen in the last days has been overwhelming and, in time of overwhelming grief, it can be hard to find anything positive to hold on to ... What we can all do is to pledge ourselves to build the world that Jo was fighting for; a world of humanity, decency, compassion, solidarity, human rights, social justice, of simple kindness.”
The Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also attended the Parliament Square event.
Vigils have also taken place across Wales. In Swansea’s Castle Square, about 300 people gathered to listen to several speakers paying tribute.
Mourners laid flowers and lit candles in front of a picture of Cox and a unveiled a banner featuring a quote from her: “We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.”
Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock, who shared an office with Cox and also worked with her in Brussels, said: “Jo stood for the things that is best about our country: internationalism, compassion and the view that you solve problems by working with people - not against them.
“It made no difference to Jo whether you were a constituent with a problem or a Syrian refugee. We have lost a someone who was a great force for good.”
Updated
Counter-terrorism investigators have been involved since the start of the investigation, working alongside murder squad detectives.
The north-east counter-terrorism unit has experience in investigating domestic extremism, the official term for far-right activity. Detectives from the unit will focus on the motive for the attack and it has specialists such as those in intelligence analysis, who can help the police inquiry.
Updated
Outside Batley town hall on Friday night, several hundred people gathered for a vigil to remember Jo Cox. A minute’s silence was led by a local priest, Rev Mark Umpleby.
Afterwards, Naz Shah, the MP for nearby Bradford West, was tearful as she described her shock at Cox’s death. “She was one of those women who should have made history. She’s the type of person legends are made of,” said Shah, who was – like Cox – part of the new intake to the Commons last May. “She had this incredible energy about her, and what was amazing was her dedication not just to her constituents but to her kids. You’d see her rushing off back to the boat to tuck her kids in and then she would cycle back to vote.”
Shah remembered a joyful meeting in Portcullis House with Cox and Stephen Kinnock, another 2015 parliamentary newcomer. Cox had brought her two small children, who were causing mayhem. “I remember saying to her, ‘We need a picture of this for your memoirs.’ She was trying to have a serious political conversation while her two little ones were running between her legs. I have a picture of us three next to a buggy, with a blur of her little boy running past.”
Cox held a party on her boat on Tuesday for the 2015 intake but Shah was unable to make it. “It’s one of those things I will live to regret,” she said.
Another vigil is due to take place at the Al Hikmah community centre in Batley at 7pm.
Updated
In a further indication of far-right reaction to the murder of Jo Cox, the Observer’s home affairs editor Mark Townsend reports that another Yorkshire MP received a death threat for sympathising with refugees the day before Jo Cox was murdered.
Notts Casual Infidels, a far-right group belonging to the extremist Infidels network, posted an image of York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell addressing a “refugees welcome rally” at 9.39am on Thursday 15 June with the warning: “This bitch needs to disappear.”
Hours after Cox’s death later that day, the same group said in a Facebook post: “We knew it was only a matter of time before we take it to the next level. We have been mugged off for Far to (sic) long.” The post was later deleted.
That follows the news that police are investigating a white supremacist group after applause for the killing was posted on one of its social media accounts.
According to the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, at least nine MPs have been targeted by far-right activists during the past two years.
Updated
New details about Cox’s killing were also released by the police. They said she was attacked as she arrived for her constituency surgery on Thursday – not after, as was previously thought.
“During the course of the incident, a 77-year-old man bravely intervened to assist Jo and in doing so sustained a serious injury to his abdomen and although now stable he remains in hospital,” the force’s temporary chief constable, Dee Collins, said.
She confirmed the north-east counter-terrorism unit would be providing specialist support and said that medical examinations had resulted in Mair being declared fit for both detention and interview, adding that detectives would continue to question him today.
It also emerged that Cox had twice received a “malicious communication of a sexual nature at her parliamentary office in Westminster”. Collins said that both incidents were investigated by the Metropolitan police and that one person – not Mair – was given an adult caution.
“The other incident remains undetected. West Yorkshire police have not been made aware of any complaints or concerns from Jo Cox,” she said.
Collins also praised members of the public who helped unarmed officers find and tackle the suspect.
Updated
Suspect's far-right links are 'priority line of inquiry', police say
West Yorkshire police have released a statement saying that reports linking the man who shot Jo Cox to far-right extremism form a central part of their inquiries.
“[This is a] priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo. We are keeping an open mind and I do not wish to add to the speculation,” the force’s temporary chief constable, Dee Collins, said.
Police are also looking into reports surrounding suspect Tommy Mair’s “link to mental health services” and are seeking to find out “how the suspect came to be in possession of an unlawfully held firearm”.
Updated
“To the brutal, sudden end, Jo Cox was beating into the wind, refusing to drop causes and arguments she believed in passionately, even when they seemed doomed to defeat,” writes the Guardian’s Julian Borger, who met the MP in Westminster on Tuesday before she left for her West Yorkshire constituency. Read the full piece below:
Updated
The Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw has been speaking after a man was charged over abusive remarks to his parliamentary office. He said his staff, rather than him, had borne the brunt of allegedly homophobic and racist remarks.
“My constituency staff have borne the brunt of it. This led to the direct death threat made to me on Wednesday and I would like to congratulate the police for moving so swiftly,” he told news agency SWNS.
Bradshaw said he, like all his parliamentary colleagues, were stepping up their security. “The security of MPs is constantly reviewed and of course it has [been looked at] as a result of Jo’s murder. We have all been advised to hold appointment-only surgeries, which I think is a sensible caution,” he said.
“We have also been advised to let local police know about our movements. But we live in a free democracy, and we value and cherish our elected representatives being out and about in public in their constituency.
“I attend hundreds a year that are pre-advertised – none of us want to change that. Politicians driving in armoured convoys and being protected by high walls is not the British way. But it is about getting the balance right and not allowing crimes like this to change our way of life.
“I just feel really numb with grief over what happened to Jo and desperately upset for Brendan and her family and loved ones. We all must live with a constant sense of vulnerability. I do think we should use this as a moment to reflect as a nation on the political culture we create. And I think politicians and commentators should think more carefully about what they say and do, and the influence it has on people and what can open us up to hatred and violence.
“We all must live with a constant sense of vulnerability and this has made that more acute. I can remember being attacked a couple of times physically during the hunting debate and most of my colleagues have had death threats over the years.”
Devon and Cornwall police said: “An abusive phone call to MP Ben Bradshaw was recorded on his parliamentary office answering machine and heard on Wednesday.
“The office informed parliamentary police and Devon and Cornwall police. A 37-year-old male from Exeter has been charged under the 1988 Malicious Communications Act and bailed to appear before Exeter magistrates.”
Updated
Jo Cox’s closest friends have set up a fund in her name to raise money for three causes that she fought tirelessly for as an MP.
The group are asking people to donate to the causes – tackling loneliness, fighting against the politics of hate and extremism, and supporting search and rescue workers in Syria – through a website and are hoping to raise tens of thousands of pounds.
They want to cement a legacy for the popular Labour MP, whose killing has shocked politicians from all parties, with many lining up to praise her campaigning work.
The three charities chosen are ones that were close to Cox’s heart and to her family:
- Royal Voluntary Service, to support volunteers helping tackle loneliness in Cox’s constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire
- HOPE not hate, which seeks to challenge and defeat the politics of hate and extremism within local communities across Britain
- White Helmets, volunteer search and rescue workers in Syria who have saved the lives of more than 40,000 people and aim to bring hope to the region
At the time of writing, the page has received more than £37,000 in donations.
Updated
Police forces are contacting MPs across the UK to give security advice following the attack, the Press Association reports. The advice is provided through a number of channels, including local police forces, and offers information to enable MPs to take the appropriate measures to deal with a range of security issues they may face. A spokeswoman for the National Police Chiefs Council said:
The advice, which has not changed but is kept under continual review, is supported by a range of security measures developed by the police to support MPs, working closely with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and other partners.
Police forces are contacting their local MPs to reiterate our advice and consider any new security concerns they may have. Officers will offer further guidance and advice where an MP requests it on a case-by-case basis depending on any specific threat or risk.
Updated
The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour has written a tribute to Jo Cox:
There is possibly only one thing more moving than Brendan Cox’s brave tribute to his wife Jo, and that was listening to him read those raw words out over the phone in tears, and then asking quietly if it is alright. Brendan had rung me just after her death was formally announced, just because we are friends and he needed my little help to get her tribute to the media. Through mutual tears, we made one small change, so it was solely focused on his love for her, the protection of their children and determination to conquer the hatred that caused her death.
My family was due to see Jo and Brendan this weekend for a summer solstice gathering in their isolated house – no running water, bring your own alcohol, a 15-minute walk from the nearest road. Basically a field by a river and some music. It made their Thames houseboat feel luxurious.
Jo got people to do things they would never normally do. In my case I had bought a four person tent. Its assembly was something I was dreading, but my kids were too excited for words, already laughing at my imminent inability to put the damned thing up.
Jo had sent out a message that her children had just been through chicken pox, or chicken pops, as her kids called them.
Her note exuded a sense of energy and thoughtfulness, characteristics that exemplified her life. This Saturday that field, due to be full of laughter and children’s games, will stand empty, as will the lives of many of the friends she accumulated effortlessly every day.
Updated
The all-party parliamentary group on ending homelessness, of which Jo Cox was a vice-chair, has responded to her death. The group’s chair, David Mackintosh MP, said:
It is with deepest sympathy that the APPG on ending homelessness must come to terms with the horrendous and senseless murder of our vice-chair Jo Cox MP.
Jo was an incredibly intelligent and spirited MP, and instrumental in the setting up of the APPG on ending homelessness. Wholly dedicated to all forms of social inclusion, we talked often about our ideas for the future of the group. She was always full of ideas and energy. Jo was an incredibly compassionate and committed MP who believed in a better world.
The group is devastated by this terrible loss and send our condolences to Jo’s family at this difficult time.
The APPG on ending homelessness will carry on the great work [that] Jo started and will continue to work across the different political parties to make Jo’s goal of ending homelessness a reality.
Updated
Jeremy Cliffe, the Economist’s Bagehot columnist, has written a good article about the killing of Jo Cox and how hostility to politicians has gone too far. Here’s an extract.
It is their very visibility to their constituents, that noble hallmark of the British system, that makes MPs targets for loners, extremists and the furious. The lurid rantings of such people regularly make it into parliamentary mailbags, as I have witnessed working in one MP’s office and visiting dozens of others as a journalist. In one, I was shown a thick wad of paper from one constituent, perhaps one hundred pages thick, filled with dense, spidery, scatological fantasies of violence and destruction. It was not untypical, I was told.
The abuse is not confined to the deranged. It arises in an environment in which the stereotype of the lazy, venal, self-serving MP is depressingly widely accepted. This has deep roots in Britons’ ancient scepticism of authority. Yet particularly since the 2009 expenses scandal, when a handful of (frankly rather minor) scoundrels gave the decent majority a bad name, this has curdled into something darker; something nastier. In the heat of the EU referendum campaign, I have attended a series of events (for the leave side, it must be said) at which placid, middle-class, middle England types have parroted not just the usual gormless claims about MPs (“They’re all the same”, “They’re all in it for themselves”) but have tipped into outright conspiracy theorising. “Britain is not a democracy, its politicians are just puppets for shadowy corporate and foreign forces, they are traitors ...”
Yes, it is healthy for citizens to hold their representatives to account, to interrogate and challenge, to adopt a sceptical attitude towards the decisions they take, and to boot them out when they fail. But Britain in 2016 has gone far, far beyond that. A country so intensely suspicious about its leaders, so wide-eyed in its willingness to believe the worst, so thirsty for proof of betrayal and decadence, is not a country in a good place.
Updated
Jo Cox lived in a houseboat when she was in London, and boat owners who knew her are planning their own tribute, the BBC’s Naomi Grimley reports.
The community of boathouse owners who were neighbours to #JoCoxMP tell me they will sail their barges up to Westminster out of respect
— naomi grimley (@naomigrimley) June 17, 2016
Tower Bridge will be raised as a mark of respect when the flotilla of barges sails under it.
— naomi grimley (@naomigrimley) June 17, 2016
Updated
Nazi regalia and far-right literature found at home of suspect
We have more details about the suspect in the Jo Cox killing.
The Guardian understands that special police units that searched the house of Thomas Mair found samples of Nazi regalia and farright literature.
Sources say Mair was lucid when first questioned. A picture is now emerging of a deliberately targeted attack in which he lay in wait for the MP as she emerged from her constituency surgery on Thursday.
Here is our full story:
Updated
Britain Stronger in Europe has announced that it has suspended national campaigning tomorrow. Will Straw, its executive director, said:
Volunteers may choose to continue door-to-door leafleting in their own local areas, but the campaign nationally will not be doing so. We will also be making available tribute books for volunteers and members of the public who wish to mark their respects.
Updated
The Liberal Democrats have said that, like the Conservatives, they will not put up a candidate in the Batley and Spen byelection. Sal Brinton, the party’s president, said:
The Liberal Democrats will not contest the forthcoming Batley and Spen byelection as a mark of respect.
Tim Farron, myself and the whole Liberal Democrat party pass our sincere condolences to Brendan, their family and the wider Labour movement. Hate and fear will never win.
The Green party is unlikely to put up a candidate. A spokesperson said:
The Green party leadership is inclined not to stand in this election, but we respect the right of our local party to meet and agree their position with their members. They will be doing this over the coming days. In the meantime, we continue to pay our respects to Jo Cox, and send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to her family.
Updated
Syria Solidarity UK, a network representing about a dozen groups campaigning on behalf of Syrians, has put out a statement paying tribute to Jo Cox. Here’s an extract.
Humanity lost a champion when Jo Cox was stolen from us. We are deeply saddened by the loss. We extend our most sincere condolences to Jo’s family and friends, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
Syrian groups in Britain learned of her last year as a new MP prepared to speak up on Syria after two years of near-silence in the UK parliament. Her view of the crisis was moral and realistic, rigorous in seeking to understand what was happening, and clear in seeing what could and should be done.
Updated
More than 20,000 people have left tributes to Jo Cox at Avaaz, the online campaigning organisation. Avaaz is describing it as an online vigil and some of the messages will be displayed at a physical vigil in Parliament Square, central London, tonight at 7.30pm.
Updated
Vote Leave has announced that it is suspending major campaign events tomorrow, such as a planned rally in Birmingham, the Press Association reports, but door-to-door leaflet distribution will continue at a local level.
Updated
Vigils being held in honour of Jo Cox tonight
At least 20 vigils are being held in honour of Jo Cox around the country, mostly later this afternoon and tonight.
Here is a full list of the ones that we know about.
Today
Pontypool – 4pm
We will be holding a vigil in Torfaen in memory of the wonderful Jo Cox MP at 4pm outside Pontypool Civic Centre. All welcome.
— Nick Thomas-Symonds (@NickTorfaenMP) June 17, 2016
Cardiff – 6pm
**CORRECTION** The Vigil in memory of Jo Cox will begin at 6pm this evening at the Senedd followed by speeches at 6:30pm.
— Cardiff North Labour (@CardiffNorthLAB) June 17, 2016
Swansea – 6pm
tonight at 6pm Swansea will hold a vigil in memory of Jo Cox. Come in love and share our memories and respect for Jo. #weloveyoujocox
— Carolyn Harris (@carolynharris24) June 17, 2016
Wolverhampton – 7pm
We are holding a vigil tonight at 7pm at Cenotaph in #Wolverhampton to pay tribute to our friend & colleague #JoCoxMP
— Emma Reynolds (@EmmaReynoldsMP) June 17, 2016
York – 7pm
This evening the University of York Labour Club are hosting a vigil at 7pm on Greg's Place in memory of Jo Cox MP. All are welcome.
— YUSU (@yorkunisu) June 17, 2016
Ellesmere Port – 7.30pm
We are holding a vigil this evening at 7.30pm in the Civic Square, Ellesmere Port to show our respect to Jo Cox. All are welcome.
— Justin Madders MP (@justinmadders) June 17, 2016
Lewes – 7.30pm.
I can’t find a link, but a reader has sent me this: “Lewes vigil for Jo Cox, Cliffe High Street, wear black, bring candles.”
Saturday
Sunday
Updated
Police are investigating a white supremacist group after applause for the murder of the MP Jo Cox on Thursday was posted on one of its social media accounts, the Guardian’s Kevin Rawlinson has learned.
The news emerged after a wealth of material glorifying the killing was posted online by far-Right supporters. Reports have also emerged linking the man arrested over the Batley and Spen MP’s killing to white supremacist groups.
Officers from Northumbria police are investigating tweets posted on the account of the north-east chapter of National Action, a group that holds regular avowedly racist demonstrations and has campaigned for Britain to leave the EU, the force said on Friday.
One of the tweets glorified the suspected killer, Tommy Mair. Another read: “only 649 MPs to go.”
According to the US anti-hate campaign Southern Poverty Law Center, Mair had bought books including manual on how to make a homemade pistol from a US neo-Nazi group the National Alliance.
Northumbria police said its intelligence officers were investigating the account, which is believed to be controlled by someone outside the region. “Depending on what comes back with our inquiries, we will send a package to the [relevant] force to get that person arrested”, the force said.
Asked if it stood by the tweets posted on one of its regional accounts, National Action said: “We have no interest in participating with this nation in any empty gestures of pity. Anyone who chooses to wallow in such depraved moral signalling deserves only ridicule.”
Matt Collins, head of research at Hope Not Hate, said: “Why are we allowing such a toxic atmosphere of threats, hatred and racism to flourish? Where has gone the decency in our society, where good men and women stand up to this?”
Bercow's speech in full: 'She had a huge amount more to give'
Here is the full text of the speech by John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, on Jo Cox. He was with David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn in Birstall.
Today I think everybody is united in grief, in horror and in an overpowering respect for somebody who we came to know, whose talents we admired, whose passion we observed on a daily basis. There are legitimate differences, as the prime minister and the leader of the opposition have said, and those differences on matters of policy will always be there and that’s part of the democratic dialogue.
But we are able to come together and to say two things: first of all, as everybody here knows, Jo Cox was a quite outstanding member of parliament who in 13 months representing her constituency made an extraordinary impression on her colleagues, on the media and I’m quite certain on her constituents.
As has already been said, she had a huge amount more to give and she was inspired by a moral passion, a fixity of purpose and a deep-rooted conviction which she shared with Brendan and of which Brendan and her children and her colleagues and her constituency can be incredibly proud.
And secondly, it was a despicable and appalling act which has shocked not merely people in Batley and Spen but right across the country – and, I suspect, many millions of people around the world.
Evil cannot be allowed and will not be allowed to triumph over good. We just have to underline our determination as politicians across the spectrum that free speech and the right of people to go about their business and the pursuit of principle will continue, and it will not be dulled or dimmed or cowed in any way by people who think that violence and the spirit of hatred can be allowed to triumph. That has not happened, as I think we are demonstrating today, and it will not happen – not now and not at any time.
Everybody here must be incredibly proud of Jo Cox. From my vantage point, I got to see her, I got to hear her, I knew of her passion, I knew of her commitment, I knew of her ability and I knew of her quite extraordinary hard work. Everyone here today knows that and we’ve come together in grief, in admiration and in respect.
Jo Cox’s last words were “my pain is too much,” according to Gulham Maniyar the father of Cox’s assistant Fazila Aswat who was with the MP during the attack.
Speaking to ITV News, Maniyar, a former Labour councillor, said:
“I don’t know full facts at the moment because my daughter is in shock but she’d [Jo] gone for surgery and as soon as she’d come out of the car, she [Jo] was sitting on the back seat, as soon as she’s [Jo] come out of the back door, by the time my daughter came out of the car she saw Jo Cox lying on the floor. She tried to help her but she couldn’t do anything. She’d been stabbed and shot.
“She was with my daughter. They’d left Batley office, they were in the marketplace, she was in my daughter’s car sitting in the back seat. The car stopped and Jo decided to come out. My daughter didn’t know she’d been shot. Because this person must be waiting outside where the surgery happens.”
“She said her [Jo’s] injury was so bad and she was in her arms. There was lots of blood. She said ‘Jo, get up’ but she [Jo] said ‘no, my pain is too much, Fazila’. And I think those were the last words Jo spoke. She could not do anything else. She tried to comfort her. Then the police came, the air ambulance came, they took her to hospital. She was a witness and her clothes were full of blood.”
“She tried to help her, she tried to hit [the attacker] with her handbag but he tried to go at her. People came so he followed them and he came back again and shot her [Jo] again twice.”
CPS special crimes and counter-terror prosecutors involved
It is understood that prosecutor in the special crimes and counter-terrorism unit at the CPS are involved in the case.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We are supporting and advising the police in their investigation.”
The unit is led by Sue Hemmings and has been in discussions with detectives investigating the case.
Updated
Leaders continue to offer condolences from around the world. The latest include statements from the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Romania, Lithuania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan.
In MR stilgestaan bij moord Jo Cox. Verschrikkelijke gebeurtenis. We voelen ons verbonden met het Britse volk.https://t.co/kSG4wLy9hD
— Minister-president (@MinPres) June 17, 2016
Kondolence premiéra @SlavekSobotka premiérovi Velké Británie @David_Cameron v souvislosti s tragickou smrtí #JoCoxMP→https://t.co/7gms3WHj21
— Úřad vlády ČR (@strakovka) June 17, 2016
Deeply saddened by abominable attack on Jo Cox&on values which I know #UK people share, promote&defend.Condolences https://t.co/AGPGrMs5aV
— Dacian Cioloş (@CiolosDacian) June 17, 2016
I sadly offer my condolences to the relatives of #British MP Jo Cox ... No political aims can be achieved by such means...
— Algirdas Butkevičius (@AButkevicius) June 17, 2016
We have much more in common than we think. This is how #JoCox will be remembered. Condolences to her family and to the UK.
— Hashim Thaçi (@HashimThaciRKS) June 17, 2016
My sincere condolences to the family and close ones of the British Parliament MP Jo Cox.
— Karim Massimov (@KarimMassimov_E) June 17, 2016
Updated
The deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he would be in parliament next week to discuss security issues.
He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “I think what we have done is put procedures in place to support MPs, but not just MPs, it’s staff and family as well.
“My problem is persuading my colleagues to take up what we have got in security measures.”
Hoyle also said: “It’s how far do you go. Each MP will have to decide what they feel they need because it’s not one-size-fits-all.”
He added: “Democracy is what we’re elected for. We have got to make sure we’re accessible.”
Updated
Cox was described as “our own Princess Diana” in a book of condolences in Batley town hall, Helen Pidd reports.
A book of condolences has opened at Batley town hall. One message describes Jo Cox as "our own Princess Diana" pic.twitter.com/PksfuIVYqw
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) June 17, 2016
Updated
Corbyn's speech in full: 'We will not allow people who spread hatred and poison to divide [us]'
And here is the full text of Jeremy Corbyn’s speech
We need our whole society to be secure. Jo was brutally murdered here 24 hours ago in this town, a town she loved, a town she grew up in serving a community she had loved.
In her life she had worked for anti-slavery campaigns, she had worked for Oxfam, she was a campaigner for human rights and justice all around the world.
She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. It’s an attack on democracy, what happened yesterday; it’s the well of hatred that killed her.
She leaves behind a husband who made a truly wonderful statement yesterday, a statement saying that in her memory we would try to conquer hatred with love and with respect. She also leaves behind two young children who will never see their mother again. They will only be able to grow up knowing what she was, what she stood for, and what she achieved.
I’ve asked the prime minister and the Speaker for the recall of parliament on Monday, and they have accepted that request, and parliament will be recalled on Monday so that we can pay due tribute to her on behalf of everybody in this country who values democracy, values the right of free speech and values the right of political expression, free from the kind of brutality that Jo suffered.
That’s why we all need to come together, to understand that everyone must have protection and security in order to function in a democratic society.
Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her.
It’s a tragedy beyond tragedy what happened yesterday. In her memory, we will not allow those people who spread hatred and poison to divide our society. We will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech.
She was a truly wonderful woman. I’m deeply sorry, deeply sad at what has happened to her and my condolences to all the people of Batley and Spen who she represented so well, and, of course, to her wonderful family, her husband, her children and all of her wider family.
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The BBC reported that the gun recovered at the scene of Cox’s murder was not “homemade” as some witnesses claimed.
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire police refused to confirm the report. “This is not something that has come from us. All we have said is that weapons including a firearm have been recovered. We are not getting into what type of firearm it is.”
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Cameron's speech in full: 'Where we see intolerance we must drive it out of our politics'
Here is the full text of David Cameron’s speech.
I first met Jo in Darfur in 2006 where she was doing what she was brilliant at, which was looking after and saving the lives of vulnerable refugees. And here we are today commemorating her life that’s been lost.
And of course the most profound thing that has happened is that two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife, and parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners, someone who epitomised the fact that politics is about serving others.
Today our nation is rightly shocked. And I think it is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that are so important about our country. The fact that we should treasure and value our democracy, where members of parliament are out in the public, accountable to the public, available to the public, and that’s how Jo died. She died doing her job.
I think the second thing is that we should recognise that politics is about public service. People who go into public life, they want to act in the public interest, to pursue the national interest, to do things for other people, to make the country, make the world a better place. Politicians disagree with each other. We often disregard what politicians say, disregard each other and the rest of it. But at the end of the day that is what it is about, and that is what Jo showed it is all about.
But, perhaps, most important of all, we should value and see as precious the democracy that we have on these islands where 65 million of us live together and work together and get on together. We do have peace, we do have stability and we do have a measure of economic wellbeing better than other countries, obviously still to be spread far more widely. And it is all underpinned by tolerance. So where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities.
And if we truly want to honour Jo, then what we should do is recognise that her values - service, community, tolerance - the values she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and years to come.
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The former Labour leader Ed Miliband said Jo Cox’s murder should prompt a rethink on the amount hatred and lack of respect in politics.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme he said: “We should reflect on Jo’s life and what she taught us rather than the manner of her death. We should reflect on the way we conduct our politics. There is too much hatred and not enough respect, and that’s true on all sides.”
He insisted that most politicians were motivated by noble causes and urged the public to recognise that. He said:
It’s also perhaps a moment of reflection for the country because Jo was exceptional, but her commitment, her reasons for going into politics, her wish to make the world a better place was not exceptional. Politicians right across the House of Commons, the vast majority are in it for the right reasons. This terrible tragedy has shone a light on the work of Jo and many of my colleagues in the House of Commons across all sides. They are not in it for the money or the fame, they are in it to try and serve their constituents …
For everyone around politics – press, politicians, perhaps members of the public too – yesterday was just this moment when you thought: ‘Gosh, a lot of the way we conduct ourselves looks so small in comparison to this terrible event.’
Miliband added: “This is a crushing day for everybody who knew her. For the Labour party we have lost a member of our family.
“My thoughts today are most of all with Brendan, her husband, and her two little kids, and that’s what makes this so unbearable.”
The former Labour leader said it would take “weeks and months to understand what motivated” [Cox’s killer]. And he urged politicians not use her death for political purposes.
He added: “I think it is very important in British politics that this is in no way used against one side or another. She was somebody who believed in inclusiveness, treating others with respect, disagreeing without being disagreeable.”
Asked about whether he was concerned about his security, he said: “The great thing about the job I had and the job I do is the ability to interact with people, not with security, not cut off from the public. Of course we have got to look at all of the issues around security … but I want us to hold on to the accessibility of our democracy.”
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This is from my colleague Oliver Duggan.
Cameron/Corbyn statement began at exactly 13.48, 24 hours to the minute after #JoCoxMP was murdered just yards away. Parliament recalled.
— Oliver Duggan (@OliDuggan) June 17, 2016
John Bercow says Cox was someone whose passion and ability was widely admired.
She was a “quite outstanding” MP and made a remarkable impression in just 13 months.
She had a huge amount more to give, he says. She was inspired by moral passion.
He says her killing was a “despicable and appalling act” which has shocked millions of people, not just in the UK but around the world.
He says free speech must continue. It must not be “dulled or dimmed or cowed” in any way by people who think violence can triumph.
He says from his vantage point he got to see and hear Cox. He knew of her extraordinary hard work. They have come together in grief.
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Corbyn announces the Commons will be recalled on Monday for tributes to Cox
Jeremy Corbyn says we need our whole society to be secure.
Jo had worked for anti-slavery campaigns, for Oxfam, for human rights all around the world, he says.
He says what happened is an attack on democracy. The “well of hatred” killed her.
He says the statement from Brendan Cox, Jo’s husband, was exceptional.
He says he has asked the prime minister and the Speaker for parliament to be recalled, and it will be recalled on Monday.
Cox was an exceptional woman. It is “a tragedy beyond tragedy” what happened to her, he says.
He says he is deeply sorry and deeply sad about what happened.
- Corbyn announces the Commons will be recalled on Monday for tributes to Cox.
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David Cameron says he first met Jo Cox in Darfur in 2006, when she was saving the lives of refugees.
He says two children have lost their mother, and parliament has lost one of its best MPs.
He says today is a day to stand back and think about what we treasure. One of those is having MPs available to the public.
And we should recognise that politicians are there to serve the public, he says.
And we should value and see as precious the democracy we have in these islands.
He says our democracy is underpinned by tolerance. Where we see intolerance, we should drive it out. Those are the values that Cox represented.
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Cameron and Corbyn in Birstall
David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn have arrived together in Birstall to lay flowers in honour of Jo Cox. They are with John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, Hilary Benn, a Leeds MP and the shadow foreign secretary, and the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Speaker’s chaplain.
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This is an interesting idea, from the Tory MP Jason McCartney. The tweet is from BuzzFeed’s Jim Waterson.
Tory MP Jason McCartney tells us he wants parliament recalled, with MPs from all parties mixing and sitting together on both sides of house.
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) June 17, 2016
Flags were flying at half mast outside City Hall in London too.
Jo Cox was a formidable politician, campaigner and person. I will miss her. City Hall flags lowered to half-mast. pic.twitter.com/AoVzwwEZR5
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) June 17, 2016
Downing Street posted his picture on Twitter within the last hour.
As a mark of respect for Jo Cox MP our flag is flying at half-mast over Number 10 today pic.twitter.com/vpiOEBXOKH
— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 17, 2016
David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn are due to arrive in Birstall shortly to pay tribute to Jo Cox.
World's media assembled in #Birstall waiting for visit by David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn to pay tribute to #JoCox pic.twitter.com/VOCvvXOKus
— Amy Murphy (@AmyMurphyPA) June 17, 2016
Here is the statement from the Conservative party about its decision not to put up a candidate in the Batley and Spen byelection.
Following the tragic killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Conservative party has decided not to contest the forthcoming byelection as a mark of respect to a much-loved and respected politician.
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Merkel urges British politicians to moderate their rhetoric
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has urged politicians in the UK to moderate their language in the EU referendum campaign. In response to a question about the killing of Jo Cox, she told journalists today:
The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect.
That’s why we all value democratic game rules. And we know how important it is to draw limits, be it in the choice of speech, in the choice of the argument but also in the choice of partly disparaging argument.
Otherwise the radicalisation will become unstoppable.
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In the House of Commons there will be a vigil in memory of Jo Cox by the Speaker’s chaplain, the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at 7pm. The vigil outside in Parliament Square will start at 7.30pm, so that MPs can attend after the Commons one is over.
There’s talk of parliament being recalled to have tributes to Jo Cox next Monday. When the Brighton bomb went off on 12 October 1984, parliament was not recalled, even though it was an assassination attempt on the prime minister and an MP was killed. When parliament resumed on 22 October, 10 days later, there was a statement on the bombing by the home secretary (Leon Brittan) which lasted for only 20 minutes.
Ian Gow, who was the last MP to be killed, died on 30 July 1990. Parliament had gone down four days previously. Parliament was not recalled. Parliament next sat on 6 September (recalled to discuss the Gulf war). Gow’s death was announced by the Speaker. There were no speeches of any kind.
Grant Shapps has proposed that the main parties give Labour a free run in the byelection and the Conservatives have said they will not put up a candidate. This didn’t happen in the byelections of 1984 and 1990 caused by the deaths above. There was some talk about it in the Enfield Southgate byelection of 1984, but a normal contest went ahead and Michael Portillo won. Indeed the Liberal Democrats won the Eastbourne byelection after the Conservative Gow’s death.
Times have changed in all sorts of ways.
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Here’s our story about David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn making a joint appearance in Batley and Spen later to pay tribute to Jo Cox.
John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, is also due to appear alongside Cameron and Corbyn, the Press Association reports.
According to the BBC, the Conservatives have decided not to put up a candidate in the byelection that will take place in Batley and Spen following the death of Jo Cox.
*** BREAKING *** Conservative Party will NOT contest by-election in Batley and Spen after death of MP @Jo_Cox1
— Eleanor Garnier (@BBCEleanorG) June 17, 2016
Grant Shapps, the former Conservative co-chairman, proposed this option earlier today. (See 10.47am.)
A man has been charged by police over an abusive phone call made to the Westminster office of the Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw, writes Steven Morris.
It is unclear when the message was left but it was heard on the day before MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed.
Devon and Cornwall police said: “An abusive phone call to MP Ben Bradshaw was recorded on his parliamentary office answering machine and heard on Wednesday.
“The office informed parliamentary police and Devon and Cornwall police. A 37-year-old male from Exeter has been charged under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and bailed to appear before Exeter magistrates.”
After the news of the attack on Cox emerged, Bradshaw tweeted: “Absolutely ghastly news about my lovely colleague Jo Cox. Thoughts & prayers for her & her loved ones.”
Parliament set to be recalled to allow MPs to pay tribute to Jo Cox
This is from the Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh.
Announcement due very soon on a possible recall of Parliament as a mark of respect for Jo Cox
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) June 17, 2016
I’m told it is now almost certain that parliament will be recalled to allow MPs to pay tribute to Jo Cox, probably on Monday afternoon.
David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn are due to appear together in Batley and Spen, and may say more about it then.
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Here’s a subtitled version of Angela Merkel condemning the murder of Jo Cox.
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Number 10 are not saying any more about David Cameron’s visit to Batley and Spen, although we are expected to see him in the constituency paying tribute to Jo Cox later today.
Jeremy Corbyn will be in the constituency too.
This raises the possibility that they may decide to do a joint event together. Corbyn has refused to share a platform with Cameron in the EU referendum campaign, but the case for making a joint stand together on this issue would be very different. But Downing Street and Corbyn’s office are not saying anything, and so they may speak separately.
Canadian MPs held a minute’s silence for Jo Cox.
David Cameron is going to Batley and Spen today to pay his respects to Jo Cox, the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn reports.
David Cameron is on his way to Batley and Spen now to pay his respects to #JoCox.
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) June 17, 2016
Vigils in honour of Jo Cox planned for all over UK
A vigil in honour of Jo Cox is being planned for Parliament Square in London at 7.30pm tonight. There are more details on this Facebook post.
Another is being planned in Edinburgh for 6.30pm.
In Manchester there will be a vigil at 7pm.
Birmingham is holding one at 7pm too.
Peterborough is holding one earlier – at 4.30pm.
In Cardiff the vigil will take place at 6pm.
**CORRECTION** The Vigil in memory of Jo Cox will begin at 6pm this evening at the Senedd followed by speeches at 6:30pm.
— Cardiff North Labour (@CardiffNorthLAB) June 17, 2016
And Belfast is holding one about now.
These are the ones I’m aware of. But I will update this list as I hear of more. If you are aware of one that I have not mentioned yet, do email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
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This is from the American embassy.
"We are shocked & appalled that a member of the UK Parliament, Ms Jo Cox, was murdered while doing her public duty." https://t.co/ZvlgAEOU3v
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) June 17, 2016
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, has been among those paying tribute to Jo Cox at Parliament Square. She was close to tears as she told Sky News:
We worked very closely together on Syria, and the air drops, and she was just a lovely person, so I just wanted to come down and show my respect. She obviously served her local community with real dedication. She’s like many of us; she came here because she had a real vocation. It is just absolutely devastating what’s happened to her.
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“We have lost one of us,” said Mike Cook, the headteacher of Heckmondwike grammar school where Jo Cox was head girl.
Speaking to the Guardian he said:
She visited the school just a year ago and she was, as everyone describes, full of life, full of compassion, and determination to do the best she possibly could for the people that she represented.
We have had a special assembly this morning and special prayers for Jo and her family. I was reminding them of how she was just doing her job, representing the local people and representing us.
The school is grieving collectively for Jo and there’s a very strong sense of community in our school. Although Jo was 41 and the oldest children in our school are 18, they clearly consider that we have lost one of us. One of our community, a local girl, [who] made the most of all the opportunities that the school presented in her time here. Just as the current crop do. There is a sombre mood, filled with respect for everything that Jo has achieved. Deeply saddened that she won’t be able to carry on making that impact that she had clearly begun to do. There is a very, very low mood in school today.
In a statement Cook added:
She was head girl and went on to Pembroke College, Cambridge, and continued to make an impact everywhere she went.
The school community would like to add its tributes to those of so many others at this extraordinarily sad time. Jo exemplified and embodied all the school’s values and we are very proud of our association with her.
The expressions of grief and admiration reflect the Jo we knew and respected. Driven by a deep urge to do what is right, and to stand up for the disadvantaged and those in our world least able to represent themselves, Jo gave a voice to the powerless.
She did so with great compassion and tireless determination, and she did so peacefully. Clearly, therefore, we considered her a shining example to subsequent cohorts of students.
She had already made a difference in her political career and we are truly saddened that her brilliant contribution has been foreshortened in this shocking and cruel manner.
Special prayers have been said in school today for Jo, and for the family and friends she leaves behind, and our thoughts are with Brendan and their two children especially.
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Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, is due to visit Birstall, where Jo Cox was killed, later today to pay tribute.
Stephen Timms, the Labour MP who was stabbed in the stomach in his constituency surgery in 2010, told BBC News that parliamentarians would not want to make themselves less accessible in response to the killing of Jo Cox. He said that perhaps some security measures for MPs could be improved, but that they would not want to cut themselves off from the public.
What none of us would want is a big change in the culture of our country which would make it much harder for people to get to speak to, get to meet their MPs. After I was attacked the police did say to me: ‘Would you like a metal detector on the way into the surgery?’ But the problem with that is that it would make going to see your MP a pretty unpleasant experience. And none of us want that to happen.
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At the Yorkshire Shooting Centre in Mirfield, six miles away from Birstall, staff said Thomas Mair was not a customer, our Northern editor Helen Pidd reports.
A worker called Andy said: “He’s not known to us. We checked all our records and we don’t know him. He’s not been at the shooting range or bought guns or ammunition from us.
“It’s not easy to possess a firearm: it’s probably easier to buy one on the black market than to do it legally. It seems this is an unfortunate isolated incident.”
The Metropolitan police have confirmed that a man was arrested in March after Cox complained about abusive messages. The man arrested was not Thomas Mair.
In a statement Scotland Yard said:
Officers received an allegation of malicious communications from Jo Cox MP, and in March 2016 arrested a man in connection with the investigation.
The man subsequently accepted a police caution.
The man who accepted the police caution is not the man in custody in West Yorkshire.
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After winning the Tooting byelection for Labour on Thursday, Rosena Allin-Khan paid tribute to Jo Cox instead of making a victory speech. Here’s video of her remarks:
Here is Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, commenting on the killing of Jo Cox.
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Mair 'bought homemade gun guide from neo-Nazi group'
The man arrested over the killing of the MP Jo Cox bought books from a US-based neo-Nazi group, including guides on how to build homemade guns and explosives, according an anti-hate campaign group in the US, Matthew Weaver and Nicky Woolf report.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published receipts that appeared to show Thomas Mair bought, among other books, a manual on how to make a homemade pistol from the National Alliance.
The receipts, some of which date back to the 1990s, showed Mair spent more than $620 (£436) on literature from the group, which advocates the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people.
He bought books that instructed readers on the “chemistry of powder & explosives”, “incendiaries”, and a work called Improvised Munitions Handbook. The handbook included detailed instructions on constructing a pipe pistol using parts available in DIY stores.
Receipted items also included Ich Kampfe, an illustrated handbook issued to members of the Nazi party in 1942.
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MPs have signalled they won’t be intimidated by the murder of Jo Cox by going ahead with constituency surgeries.
Labour and Conservative politicians have been advised to talk to local police forces about the security measures they have in place for meetings with the public.
Emails from the whips’ offices of both parties were sent out in the hours after Cox was killed. Since then several MPs have defiantly announced they will be holding Friday surgeries.
This morning I will be at Dartmouth Academy meeting students then at 2pm at Dartmouth Guildhall for an open meeting, everyone welcome
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) June 17, 2016
PA has more:
Dan Jarvis, Labour MP for Barnsley Central, said: “I know MPs are scared. We’ll be reviewing our security, but I’ll walk through Barnsley today like every Friday.”
Jonathan Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, said: “I plan to keep to all my engagements today, including my surgery. I will ensure there is security present however.”
The SNP MP Joanna Cherry said she would be holding a two-hour constituency surgery.
Holly Lynch, Labour MP for Halifax, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I think you do have to bear in mind the safety of your staff at all times as well, who are quite often with you when you’re meeting members of the public, and so you cannot avoid taking these risks and concerns very, very seriously, but to not let it stop you from being the effective MP that your constituents deserve.”
The Labour former minister Yvette Cooper told the programme: “All of us will tell you it’s so important for MPs to be embedded in the community that we represent.
“If you go down to Asda and someone stops you to tell you about a problem with their neighbour or the fact their mum’s back garden is flooded, you write the details down on the back of a till receipt or something like that.
“That kind of daily discussion you have in the constituency is so incredibly important and no one would ever want to put that at risk.”
Rachel Reeves, Labour MP for Leeds West, said her constituency office was temporarily closed.
She told the BBC: “We mustn’t let the actions of this man drive a wedge between MPs and the people we were elected to serve.
“The work of an MP in our surgeries, our work in the community, must continue but I think it’s right today that as well as ceasing the campaigning in the referendum that we close our office.”
Katie Pruszynski, a former assistant to the Norwich North MP Chloe Smith, said MPs were “lightning rods for people who are angry and frustrated” and someone had once threatened to eat her “like a wolf”.
She told the Yorkshire Post:
“MPs are so public-facing and not infrequently you would get someone desperately upset and and emotional and that can extend into being threatening and abusive and sometimes there are people who are quite disturbed.
“I remember being screamed at by someone clearly quite disturbed that they would find me and eat me like a wolf.”
Updated
Flags have been flying at half mast over public buildings in honour of Jo Cox.
Updated
One of the best tributes to Jo Cox published today is this one, in the Yorkshire Post, by Kate Proctor, who knew her well.
Shapps says Tories should not put up a candidate in byelection following Cox's death
The Conservative MP Grant Shapps, a former party co-chairman, has suggested that the Tories give Labour a free run in the byelection that will take place following the death of Jo Cox as a mark of respect.
I hope that in the sad by-election to follow, Jo Cox's constituency is left uncontested as a tribute to Jo's extraordinary public service
— Grant Shapps (@grantshapps) June 16, 2016
There is some precedent for a major party not putting up a candidate in a byelection. When the Tory MP David Davis resigned to fight a byelection in 2008 to protest about Labour’s plans to extend the amount of time terror suspects could be held without charge, Labour did not oppose him.
But at the last byelection held following the killing of an MP, in Eastbourne, Ian Gow’s seat, in 1990, all the main parties did put up candidates. The argument was made that normal democratic politics should continue.
Cox had a majority of 6,057 in 2015. Her constituency, Batley and Spen, voted Tory in 1992, but it has been Labour since 1997.
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On the BBC News the Labour MP Anna Turley expressed some support for the idea of recalling parliament to allow MPs to pay tribute to Jo Cox. Turley said that she knew some MPs “want to come together to share that grief and, most importantly, our memories of Jo”.
The Commons is in recess until Monday week, after the EU referendum. At the moment there are no plans for a recall. Number 10’s view is that there should be a time for MPs to pay tribute, but that the timing (ie, whether it can wait until the Commons comes back on Monday 27 June) is a matter to be decided in consultation with Cox’s family.
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The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has posted a message on Twitter expressing his shock at what happened to Jo Cox.
Profondément choqué par le meurtre hier de Jo Cox, dans ce qui n'est rien d'autre qu'une atteinte intolérable contre la démocratie.
— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) June 17, 2016
This translates as:
Deeply shocked by the murder yesterday of Jo Cox, in what is nothing other than an intolerable affront against democracy.
The Russian embassy has posted a message on Twitter saying it is appalled by the killing of Jo Cox.
Appalled by murder of Jo Cox. Nothing could symbolize more democracy as antithesis to violence. #jocoxMP pic.twitter.com/r8BONCdTQL
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) June 17, 2016
The death of Jo Cox was raised in the Canadian parliament yesterday. Nathan Cullen, a Canadian MP who met her when they were both engaged in humanitarian work abroad and who was a friend, paid an emotional tribute to her. By the end he appeared to be in tears, and fellow MPs gave him a standing ovation. He told colleagues:
Mr Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life of Jo Cox, a mom of two beautiful children, a friend, a dedicated Labour MP, and a long advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world, who was murdered today. She dedicated her passion to those who needed it most, and she harnessed her limitless love, even and especially for those who allowed hate to consume them.
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Police were considering giving Jo Cox extra security protection after she was subjected to three months of abusive messages, according to the Times.
There is no known link between the messages and yesterday’s attack, the paper pointed out.
It said additional security was being considered at her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where the attack took place, as well as at her houseboat in London.
Separately, Devon and Cornwall police said a 37-year-old man was being held in custody over an abusive phone call made to the office of the Labour MP Ben Bradshaw.
A statement from the force 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.
Updated
Gabrielle Giffords, who was a congresswoman when she was shot in the head in 2011, has been using Twitter to express her horror at the killing of Jo Cox.
Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
The assassination of MP Jo Cox at the hands of a man driven by hatred is a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics that must stop.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
The scores of events that I and so many others like Jo Cox have hosted represent the importance of a democracy connected to its citizens.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
I grieve for Jo Cox’s family, friends, constituents, and for the people of Great Britain.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 16, 2016
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At Westminster people have been leaving flowers in memory of Jo Cox at Parliament Square.
The Times’s Matt Chorley has written a good tribute to Jo Cox in his Red Box morning political briefing email. Here’s an extract.
MPs are forever being told: “You just don’t get it, do you?” In fact most do get it. They get it because they hear about it every week in quiet halls and libraries like the one Jo left yesterday lunchtime before being so brutally struck down.
They get it because they listen in their constituency surgeries to the cries of help from those who have nowhere left to turn. They get it because every day they struggle against the national unfairnesses and local bureaucracies that we each encounter just fleetingly. They miss their own families’ lives being played out to attend never-ending meetings about other people’s.
It is one of the great quirks of British politics that from the prime minister down our elected politicians make themselves available to their constituents openly and warmly. We now know what a risk that can be. It has since emerged that Jo had faced months of abuse and police were poised to put extra security in place. Other MPs are fearful for their safety. One of the foundations of our democracy will inevitably be chipped away.
It’s true that some MPs could earn more money elsewhere. They could all have an easier life. But they put up with it all because they think it is the right thing to do, because they want to change the world.
Updated
Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader, sounded close to tears as he paid tribute to Jo Cox on BBC News this morning. Cox used to work for his wife Glenys when she was an MEP. You can watch it here.
Here’s an excerpt.
We’ve known Jo since she came to work for Glenys in the European parliament 20 years ago, and it would be no exaggeration to say that both of us felt about her as if she was a beloved niece, because that’s the kind of relationship it was.
She was a woman of huge intelligence, sparkling. She was merry, she had a marvellous sense of dedicated purpose without any kind of piety or pomposity at all. She was wonderful company but she was also a ferociously effective political activist and she showed that before she became a member of parliament and we were hugely proud when she was selected and then elected. We both went up to speak for her and it was obvious then that the community had taken Jo to its heart – just like everybody else did. You’ve spoken to people from across the political spectrum and you don’t produce testimonies like that unless you are quite extraordinary and she certainly was …
It’s a death in the family, there’s no doubt at all about that – our family, the Labour family, the family of Batley and Spen – because that’s the kind of feeling, the response that she nourished. There’s a phrase from Shelley, ‘a day-star of the age’ and Jo Cox was a day-star.
Updated
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire. I will be blogging today with my colleague Matthew Weaver.
We’ve already mentioned the result of the Tooting byelection, but here, for the record, are the results in full.
Rosena Allin-Khan (Lab) 17,894 (55.92%, up 8.73%)
Dan Watkins (C) 11,537 (36.05%, down 5.83%)
Esther Obiri-Darko (Green) 830 (2.59%, down 1.52%)
Alex Glassbrook (LD) 820 (2.56%, down 1.37%)
Elizabeth Jones (UKIP) 507 (1.58%, down 1.29%)
Des Coke (CPA) 164 (0.51%)
Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 54 (0.17%)
Graham Moore (Eng Dem) 50 (0.16%)
Akbar Ali Malik (Immigrants) 44 (0.14%)
Ankit Love (Love) 32 (0.10%)
Zirwa Javaid (Ind) 30 (0.09%)
Zia Samadani (Ind) 23 (0.07%)
Bobby Smith (GMBE) 9 (0.03%)
Smiley Smillie (Ind) 5 (0.02%)
Lab maj 6,357 (19.87%)
7.28% swing C to Lab
Electorate 74,695; Turnout 31,999 (42.84%, -26.88%)
Updated
What we know so far
Here is what we now know, with all political campaigning suspended in the wake of the violent death of Jo Cox yesterday.
- 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.
- 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 was alleged to have had links to extremist groups. Witnesses said he shouted “Britain first” as he attacked Cox, with what they described as a hunting knife and a “homemade” gun.
- A 77-year-old man who apparently tried to help Cox was also injured, although not seriously.
- Police have confirmed that a man who was cautioned three months ago for sending malicious communications to Cox is not the same man under arrest in connection with her death.
- 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.
- Global tributes were led by Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee:
It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance … 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.
- Campaigning in the EU referendum is suspended. The chancellor, George Osborne, eschewed his Mansion House speech on the EU on Thursday night to instead make a brief statement:
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.
- Rosena Allin-Khan, who last night won the Tooting byelection for Labour, discarded her victory speech to pay tribute to her colleague:
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.
Updated
At the close of the Today programme discussion, Cooper and Lynch were asked about the tone of political discourse.
Lynch said she would welcome a more “respectful approach”:
We’ve all been a bit taken aback by the nature and the tone of this referendum … We’ve all had to get used to that … this is the nature of politics.
Cooper said she felt the mood had changed:
There has been an increase in vitriol in public debate … that’s never healthy.
Disagreements are essential but there’s a feeling that there is more nastiness … The thing about Jo is that she would always have stood against that.
Updated
Both MPs said it was crucial that MPs did not become cut off from the communities they serve, after reports that Labour colleague Rachel Reeves has closed her constituency office today over security concerns.
Lynch told the BBC:
As many of my colleagues have said, to be a good MP you have to be rooted in your constituency, you have to be as available as possible … It’s incredibly difficult to then think about what the future looks like, how to manage those safety risks but also be effective.
Cooper agreed:
It’s so important for MPs to be embedded in the community you represent … that kind of daily discussion you have is so incredible important.
[But] you also want to make sure your staff are properly protected.
She said most encounters with constituents were warm, but tragedies such as yesterday’s “hit the headlines and break everyone’s heart”.
Labour MPs Yvette Cooper and Holly Lynch have been speaking on the Today programme:
Cooper described Jo Cox “as somebody who saw life and shook it up”:
It is unbearable to feel she has had hers stolen away. Most of us are struggling to process it …
She never opted for the easy path, she would walk towards problems rather than walk away from them.
Cooper singled out Cox’s work to assist refugees:
She seized on a challenge and we all encouraged her to do that …
She was brilliant, seized on things, was a fierce advocate for the things she believed in, but also for her family … She never stopped doing both and doing both brilliantly. She was a fantastic mum as well as an amazing politician.
Lynch – who, like Cox, became an MP in the election last year – remembered:
Coming into Westminster, it is a funny place to get your head wrapped around – she always seemed to have a clarity.
She was able to use her personality and her experience to build support right across the chamber.
Updated
In Birstall this morning, the site where Jo Cox was attacked, close to the library where she held her regular surgery for constituents, remains under police investigation.
In the wake of the killing of Jo Cox, and widespread revulsion at the fact she was attacked as she worked in her constituency, #ThankYourMP has popped up on Twitter, with voters taking the time to acknowledge the work that MPs do.
It’s a useful reminder that there is a lot of slog and long hours often going on behind the public face of Westminster.
Here is a (fairly randomly picked) selection:
@JacobReesMogg our politics could not be more different. Yet you have listened, and helped our autistic boys more than once #thankyourMP
— Ian French (@Retiredgoth) June 17, 2016
Thank you @MaryCreaghMP for all the hard work you do in my area. You make a difference. You are appreciated.#ThankYourMP
— Maurice Morgan (@songforzula) June 17, 2016
Thank you for working for so many years as our MP @AdamAfriyie #ThankYourMP
— Kate Harrison (@tweet_too_woo) June 17, 2016
I disagree with @GiselaStuart on the EU Ref, but I also know how great she is for her local constituents and always has been #ThankYourMP
— Al Powell (@al_quiz) June 17, 2016
Thank you @stellacreasy for your fight against legal loan sharks, your feminism (& your love of indie music) #thankyourmp
— Gemma Cantelo (@GemmaCantelo) June 16, 2016
Very humbling & touching 2 receive messages of support via #ThankYourMP its privilege & pleasure 2 serve people of Rutherglen & HamiltonWest
— Margaret Ferrier MP (@MargaretFerrier) June 17, 2016
Politicians have been warned to review their security today, Press Association reports.
A No 10 spokeswoman said a reminder of safety guidance has been sent out to MPs after Jo Cox was attacked in Birstall, West Yorkshire.
The advice includes steps representatives can take to stay safe when they are “out and about” and suggests if they have any concerns they should contact their local police.
Separately, a study in the the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology in January 2016 examined the “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.
Updated
Some MPs have appealed for a recall of parliament to allow MPs to pay their respects to Cox in the House of Commons.
Parliament is currently suspended in the run-up to next Thursday’s referendum.
The Labour MP Angela Smith told BBC Newsnight:
I would welcome [a recall] because I would love to pay tribute to Jo in the best way possible … for her colleagues to reconvene and to absolutely use parliamentary democracy to demonstrate that democracy will not be beaten by this.
We will continue to represent our constituents in parliament and that’s the best tribute possible that we could pay to Jo.
Downing Street has so far not indicated any intention to recall parliament.
Updated
In April, Jo Cox spoke in a debate in the Commons about whether 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian children should be allowed to come to the UK.
The amendment was defeated. But Cox’s speech in favour of allowing refugees to come to Britain was a powerful one:
Here is an excerpt of her speech:
We all know that the vast majority of the terrified, friendless and profoundly vulnerable child refugees scattered across Europe tonight came from Syria. We also know that, as that conflict enters its sixth barbaric year, desperate Syrian families are being forced to make an impossible decision: stay and face starvation, rape, persecution and death, or make a perilous journey to find sanctuary elsewhere.
Who can blame desperate parents for wanting to escape the horror that their families are experiencing? Children are being killed on their way to school, children as young as seven are being forcefully recruited to the frontline and one in three children have grown up knowing nothing but fear and war. Those children have been exposed to things no child should ever witness, and I know I would risk life and limb to get my two precious babies out of that hellhole …
I recognise that this is not easy, but tonight we are being asked to make a decision that transcends party politics. Any member who has seen the desperation and fear on the faces of children trapped in inhospitable camps across Europe must surely feel compelled to act. I urge them tonight to be brave and bold.
Updated
The Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who shared a Westminster office with Cox, told the BBC she had not seemed overly worried by the messages for which a man accepted a police caution in March.
(The Metropolitan police has confirmed this morning that the man cautioned is not the same man under arrest for the attack in Birstall.)
But Kinnock added:
We need to think a bit about the tone of our politics and the way that politicians and the media talk to each other … and the way social media kicks in and amplifies this.
It’s not a big journey from saying horrible things to doing horrible things.
Updated
In the early hours of Friday morning, Rosena Allin-Khan became Westminster’s newest MP, winning the Tooting byelection – in a seat vacated by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan – for Labour.
She won with 17,894 votes, increasing Labour’s majority in Tooting from 2,842 in last year’s general election to 6,357. Dan Watkins came second for the Conservatives in both elections. Turnout was 42.5%.
Allin-Khan did not make a victory speech. Instead she thanked voters but moved on to speak about “the horrific events of today and the shocking death of Jo Cox”:
My thoughts and prayers are with Jo’s husband and her children. She was a proud and passionate campaigner who will be desperately missed.
Jo’s death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile – we must never forget to cherish it. Thousands of people voted today and we are all here in recognition of our democratic values.
Allin-Khan ought to have been Labour’s 100th female MP today. Instead there are still 99. The Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq noted:
Congratulations to Rosena for winning Tooting. What an absolute tragedy that she won't be Labour's 100th woman in Parliament. Devastating.
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) June 17, 2016
Updated
Thursday night saw a number of vigils for Jo Cox.
An impromptu memorial was held in Parliament Square, attended by the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, his deputy, Tom Watson, and Westminster colleagues.
In Birstall, Cox’s home town, Labour MPs including Yvette Cooper, Caroline Flint, Mary Creagh, Rachel Reeves and Dan Jarvis, along with hundreds of constituents, filled the parish church of St Peter’s.
The bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Gibbs, told them Cox was someone who “gave her life for this community”.
Downing Street said flags across Whitehall would fly at half mast today.
Flags at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will also be lowered.
Updated
Friday's UK newspapers
The death of Jo Cox dominates the front pages this morning.
The Guardian
Friday's Guardian:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
‘She believed in a better world and she fought for it every day’#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/79Edb0Z6Fp
The Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post via @IanDayPix -
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
Jo Cox 1974-2016: An MP murdered in the line of duty#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Vh9KLn24rM
The Times
Friday's Times front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
Murdered MP had faced string of security threats#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/pY1aMdfctn
The Financial Times
Friday's FT:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
Killing of Jo Cox brings abrupt halt to referendum campaign#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/ueCRvh2xP5
The Telegraph
Friday's Telegraph:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
'Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day'#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/s1KLbkqi7V
The Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
'Jo believed in a better world. She would want us all to unite against the hatred that killed her' pic.twitter.com/IjSplcpzlh
The Yorkshire Evening Post
Friday's Yorkshire Evening Post via @NicolaFurbisher
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
Our Jo#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/AXusySdZBc
The Sun
Friday's Sun front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
My Jo#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/xvWOaXXQCr
The Daily Mail
Friday's Daily Mail:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) June 16, 2016
What a tragic waste#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/hgT8Da0LvH
Three months ago, it has emerged, a man was cautioned by police for sending “malicious communications” to Jo Cox.
Police have confirmed that this is not the same man under arrest for the attack in Birstall yesterday.
A Metropolitan police spokeswoman said:
Officers received an allegation of malicious communications from Jo Cox MP, and in March 2016 arrested a man in connection with the investigation.
The man subsequently accepted a police caution. The man who accepted the police caution is not the man in custody in West Yorkshire.
Updated
Friday's other politics news
Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan won the Tooting byelection in south London last night, in a contest overshadowed by the loss of her colleague. Allin-Khan took more than 50% of votes cast – albeit on a turnout much reduced since the 2015 general election (69.7% then to 42.5% today) – and with a majority of 6,357 over Conservative candidate Dan Watkins.
Bill Gates has backed Britain remaining in the EU. In a letter to the Times, the Microsoft co-founder says the UK is “stronger, more prosperous and more influential” as a member of the union, and warns that Brexit would make it a “significantly less attractive place to do business and invest”.
A poster unveiled by Nigel Farage for the leave campaign has been reported to the police with a complaint that it incites racial hatred. The Unison union general secretary, Dave Prentis, said he had contacted the Metropolitan police. The poster shows a queue of refugees with the slogan “Breaking point: the EU has failed us all.” Boris Johnson, head of the official Vote Leave campaign, said the poster was “not our campaign” and “not my politics”.
Updated
Morning briefing
The death of Jo Cox casts a dark shadow over UK politics today – and the UK more widely. Tributes have come from across the political spectrum and across national boundaries: the US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called it “a violent act of political intolerance”.
Friends, colleagues, constituents and those who knew little of Cox before Thursday’s devastating events attended vigils to show respect for an MP cut down as she went about her work.
Here is what we now know:
- 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 was alleged to have had links to extremist groups. Witnesses said he shouted “Britain first” as he attacked Cox, with what they described as a hunting knife and a “homemade” 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.
- Campaigning in the EU referendum is suspended. The chancellor, George Osborne, eschewed his Mansion House speech on the EU on Thursday night to instead make a brief statement:
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.
- Rosena Allin-Khan, who last night won the Tooting byelection for Labour, discarded her victory speech to pay tribute to her colleague:
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.
Further reading
- Grief and shock over the death of an ‘MP with huge compassion’
- A profile of Jo Cox: Labour’s rising star
- Campaigner, humanitarian, politician: an obituary
- Watch Cox’s maiden speech to the House of Commons
- The Guardian view: an attack on humanity, idealism and democracy
-
How the attack unfolded: shots, screams and sadness
- What we know about the suspect, Thomas Mair
Commentary
Inevitably, we want to know what was behind the killing, what it means and what it says about us, our political system, our language and its consequences. It’s easy in these circumstances to assume and inflame; harder to be thoughtful and careful.
This column by Alex Massie in the Spectator has been widely praised:
When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you don’t get to be surprised when someone breaks. When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don’t be surprised if someone takes you at your word. You didn’t make them do it, no, but you didn’t do much to stop it either.
Sometimes rhetoric has consequences. If you spend days, weeks, months, years telling people they are under threat, that their country has been stolen from them, that they have been betrayed and sold down the river, that their birthright has been pilfered, that their problem is they’re too slow to realise any of this is happening, that their problem is they’re not sufficiently mad as hell, then at some point, in some place, something or someone is going to snap. And then something terrible is going to happen.
Polly Toynbee in the Guardian says we have been encouraged “to despise the political class”:
Contempt for politics is dangerous and contagious, yet it has become a widespread default sneer. There was Jo Cox, a dedicated MP, going about her business, doing what good MPs do, making herself available to any constituents with any problems to drop in to her surgery. Just why she became the victim of such a vicious attack, we may learn eventually. But in the aftermath of her death, there are truths of which we should remind ourselves right now.
Democracy is precious and precarious. It relies on a degree of respect for the opinions of others, soliciting support for political ideas without stirring up undue savagery and hatred against opponents …
Something close to a chilling culture war is breaking out in Britain, a divide deeper than I have ever known, as I listen to the anger aroused by this referendum campaign. The air is corrosive, it has been rendered so. One can register shock at what has happened, but not complete surprise.
The 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.
Comments will not be switched on for the live blog this morning. This might change later. In the meantime, do please feel free to contact me via Twitter @Claire_Phipps.
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