Yahoo – AFP, Naomi O'Leary in London, James PHEBY with Dario THUBURN in London
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| Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in London's Parliament Square on June 16, 2016 (AFP Photo/Daneil Leal-Olivas) |
Birstall
(United Kingdom) (AFP) - Campaigning for Britain's EU referendum next week was
suspended for a second day Friday as the nation reeled from the murder of a
popular pro-Europe MP at the height of a bitterly-divisive debate.
Jo Cox, a
41-year-old former aid worker also known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees,
was killed on Thursday outside a library where she was supposed to meet
constituents in a village in northern England, just a few miles (kilometres)
from where she was born.
Eye witness
Hichem Ben Abdallah, 56, who works at a cafe next to the library in Birstall,
told AFP he heard two shots and saw the petite mother of two on the ground.
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Former aid
worker Jo Cox had been an
MP for just over a year when she was shot
dead in her
constituency (AFP Photo)
|
A
52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described
as a friendly loner by neighbours, Mair also battled mental illness and
allegedly had ties to white supremacists.
"He
used to scrub his hands with Brillo pads and nail brushes until they were red
raw," said Stephen Lees, who used to be friends with Mair's brother.
With just six
days left until the historic vote, rival groups campaigning for Britain to
leave or remain in the European Union ceased campaigning and politicians joined
as one to condemn the killing.
Many
commentators questioned whether the murder could be linked to a campaign ahead
of the June 23 referendum that has stoked high tension by touching on issues of
national identity and immigration.
"We
don't yet know the circumstances of this case but there has been an increase in
vitriol, I think, in public debate," fellow Labour MP Yvette Cooper told
BBC radio.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel urged British political parties to moderate their
speech in the final week.
"The
exaggerations and radicalisation of... language do not help to foster an
atmosphere of respect," she said.
Prime
Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and parliament speaker John
Bercow were due to hold a joint event in the area later on Friday.
Cox, the
first British MP to be murdered since Ian Gow was killed by Irish Republican
Army paramilitaries in a car bomb in 1990, had complained to police earlier
this year about "malicious communications".
In March,
police arrested a man who was given a formal warning but later released. He was
not the same man in custody for Thursday's attack, the police said.
The Times
newspaper said police had been considering putting in place additional security
for her, with commentators wondering whether all MPs should be given extra protection.
Before
Cox's murder, opinion polls suggested Britons would likely vote to leave the
EU, in a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound
tumbling.
The pound
rose with Asian stocks Friday after the previous day's selloff, as investors
judged the tragedy increased the likelihood of the "Remain" side
prevailing.
 |
A woman
arrives to leave a floral tribute near the scene of the murder of
Labour Member
of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds, Britain June 17,
2016 Reuters/Phil
Noble
|
'White
nationalism'
US advocacy
group the Southern Poverty Law Center said that Mair, who had lived in Birstall
for decades, was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once
the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States.
It said he
had spent over $620 (550 euros) on reading material from the group, which
advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish
people.
"Neighbours
called him a 'loner' but he also has a long history with white
nationalism," the centre said.
It said
Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting
that witnesses told British media the assailant used a gun which appeared
"old-fashioned" or "homemade".
Another
witness, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told British media that the gunman had
shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack.
 |
Labour MP's
(L-R) Lucy Powell, Paula Sheriff, Jeff Smith, and former Labour
Party
councillor Karen Rowling, leave red roses near the scene of the murder of
Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds, Britain June 17,
2016
Reuters/Craig Brough
|
'Fight
the hatred'
Cox, whose
first speech in parliament defended immigration and diversity, lived with her
husband Brendan and their two children aged three and five, on a houseboat on
the Thames near Tower Bridge.
Flowers
were laid on the roof of the boat where they lived on Friday and residents paid
tribute to her.
As the news
of her death broke, Brendan issued an impassioned appeal for unity against
hatred.
"She
would have wanted two things above all else to happen now," he wrote.
"One,
that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to
fight against the hatred that killed her."
Related Article:
Related Article:
Very proud of my sister in law Kim who spoke on behalf of us all and did her sister proud #MoreInCommon— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) June 18, 2016
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