Murdered Labour MP Jo Cox was subjected to a barrage of hate mail in the three months prior to her brutal killing and police had been considering stepping up her security, it has emerged.
The married 41-year-old mother-of-two was punched and kicked to the ground by her attacker before being shot three times – once in the head - with a sawn-off shotgun and repeatedly stabbed with a 'foot-long hunting knife' as she lay helpless on the ground outside a West Yorkshire library.
The rising Labour star and dedicated MP died from the catastrophic injuries she sustained in yesterday's attack, after the killer ambushed her as she walked to her constituency surgery in Birstall near Leeds at around 1pm.
Two hours after her death, her husband Brendan – with whom she has two young children, aged three and five - tweeted a photograph of her and urged people to 'fight against the hatred that killed her.'
In a moving statement, he said: '[This] is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.'
It came as it emerged that police had been poised to step up security for Mrs Cox, who became an MP last year, as she had been harassed in a stream of abusive messages over the last three months.
According to The Times, additional security was being considered at her constituency surgery in Birstall, as well as her houseboat on the River Thames in London where she lives with her family.
A source said that Mrs Cox had 'thought little of' the harassing messages until the 'volume and frequency stepped up'. A man was cautioned over them.
The newspaper suggested there was no known link between the messages she had received and yesterday's attack, but reported that her security had not been upgraded before she was targeted.
Detectives were last night questioning 52-year-old 'loner' Thomas Mair, amid fears he was motivated by Mrs Cox's political campaigning. It was claimed her attacker shouted 'Britain First' as he targeted the MP in broad daylight.
Dramatic pictures show a man being arrested just minutes after the attack in a nearby street.
There is unconfirmed evidence Mair supported far-Right causes and claims he had mental health problems and had been released recently from psychiatric care.
The MP was an outspoken supporter of the Remain campaign and had called for more refugees to be given a safe haven on our shores. Last night her husband, charity worker Brendan Cox, 37, said he would dedicate 'every moment' of the rest of his life to his wife's memory.
'Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people,' he said.
Source: Daily mail
No comments:
Post a Comment