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23 November 2016updated 12 Oct 2023 10:16am

Thomas Mair found guilty of murdering Jo Cox MP

The 53-year-old man who stabbed and shot the Labour MP for Batley and Spen has been found guilty of her murder.

By New Statesman

Thomas Mair has been found guilty of murdering Jo Cox.

The 53-year-old man stabbed and shot the Labour MP to death in her West Yorkshire constituency a week before the EU referendum.

Mair has been given a whole life sentence for the murder.

Cox, 41, had represented Batley and Spen since May 2015. She was outside a constituency surgery at Birstall Library on 16 June when Mair attacked her.

He was found guilty of all four charges against him: murder, having a firearm with intent, causing grievous bodily harm with intent to 78-year-old Bernard Kenny (who was wounded at the scene), and having an offensive weapon (a dagger).

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Prior to murdering Cox, Mair had been searching political assassinations online, as well as web pages about white supremacy. He has a golden Nazi eagle on his bookcase, which is full of reading materials about white supremacy and Nazism.

When he murdered Cox, he repeatedly shouted about British supremacy: “Britain first, this is for Britain. Britain will always come first. We are British independence. Make Britain independent.”

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called her murder an “attack on democracy”, adding: “The single biggest tribute we can pay to Jo and her life will be to confront those who wish to promote the hatred and division that led to her murder.”

Cox’s husband Brendan has tweeted a tribute following the verdict:

The BBC reports that the murder was “politically motivated”, and labels it “the very definition of an act of terrorism”.

> Anoosh and Stephen’s obituary of Jo Cox

> Anoosh’s report from Batley and Spen, on the by-election no one wanted

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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