Jo Cox MP shot dead: Shropshire politicians' horror at murder

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

The region's MPs reacted with shock and disbelief as the tragedy unfolded.

Telford Tory MP Lucy Allan said: "I want to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Jo Cox. It is a terrible and tragic loss of a wonderful person and an attack on our democracy.

"Jo was in her constituency, holding an advice surgery serving her constituents, as so many other MPs were doing today.

"Most MPs genuinely want to serve and make people's lives better; Jo was one such MP.

"Colleagues have, over recent months speculated that at some point an MP would be the subject of a fatal attack, given the increasing climate of hate in which we operate. All too often this hate is manufactured and whipped up on social media, by political activists and by elements of the mainstream media, turning all MPs, even the best, into figures of hate.

"What MPs say and do, is too often twisted and distorted. Fantastical, warped claims are made and repeated over and over, until they become fact, creating anger and loathing in ordinary members of the public.

"Ordinary members of the public would be deeply, deeply shocked, if they had even the smallest insight into the unrelenting hate and abuse that pours into the offices of MPs and their staff. The death threats are real. Knives are pulled on MPs in surgery.

"Like Jo, most MPs are trying to do their best by their constituents. Like Jo, MPs have families, children, friends and loved ones."

A businessman said the gunman was heard shouting "Britain first". A man, 52, has been arrested.

Before news of her death was announced at around 5pm, regional MPs and politicians sent their best wishes along with national figures:

The alleged gunman has been named locally as Tommy Mair, 52, who neighbours in Birstall have described as "a loner".

Temporary chief constable for West Yorkshire Dee Collins expressed her deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ms Cox, who had two children aged three and five.

She said: "Jo was attacked by a man who inflicted serious and sadly, ultimately fatal injuries. Subsequently there was a further attack on a 77-year-old man nearby who has sustained injuries that are non-life threatening."

She added: "This is a very significant investigation with a large number of witnesses being spoken to at this time.

"It's a large and significant crime scene and a large police presence with a full investigation is under way to establish the motive for this attack."

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

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

"This is a very significant investigation with large numbers of witnesses that have been spoken to by police at this time. There is a large and significant crime scene and there is a large police presence in the area.

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

The murder shocked Westminster and led to the suspension of campaigning in the EU referendum.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children."

Home Secretary Theresa May said it was a "dreadful event" adding that Westminster had lost one of its "brightest and most popular" MPs.

Eyewitness Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the murder scene, described the attack, telling the Press Association: "He was shouting 'put Britain first'. He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her."

He said the gunman fired three shots, the final one at her head.

Britain First is the name of a far-Right group which said it was "not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort".

Another witness, Hichem Ben Abdallah said the alleged attacker was "kicking her as she was lying on the floor".

He said that after a bystander intervened, the man produced a gun, stepped back and shot Ms Cox.

The 56-year-old, who was in the cafe next door to the library, told the Press Association: "There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag.

"He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice."

He added: "I came and saw her bleeding on the floor."

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

He said: "The man stepped back with the gun and fired it and then he fired a second shot. As he was firing he was looking down at the ground.

"He was kicking her and he was pulling her by her hair."

Mair's house was sealed off by police who were guarding the property as forensic officers worked in the garden.

Neighbours said he had lived there for more than 30 years - on his own for the last two decades since the deaths of his mother and grandmother.

They did not think he had a job or drove a car and described how he would do gardening chores for local people.

One neighbour, David Pickles, said: "He's lived there longer than me and I've lived here since 1975.

"I still can't believe it. He's the last guy I would have thought of.

"He's just quiet. He kept himself to himself.

"He lived by himself. He's been on his own for about 20 years.

"I've never seen a lot of people visiting or anything like that, but he likes gardening.

"He did a lot of people's gardens round here. But he did it quietly."

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "We've known him quite a lot of years.

"I've known him since I was young. He lived with his grandmother in that house, she died a few years ago.

"He was a bit of a loner. It's a bit of a shock - he did everyone's gardens.

"I can't say a wrong word about him, he was so quiet.

"It's come as a shock to everybody."

Leah Ainley, who lives in Risedale Avenue where Mair was arrested, said armed police surrounded him and pinned him to the ground.

"I just saw them take him down and catch him," she added.

"The police were armed. There were more than 10 of them at the end.

"I just looked out the window and saw them. The man was white and bald. He banged his head on the floor.

"He just lay on the floor while they were holding him down.

"He had a bag with him but that's all I saw, I didn't see if he was armed."

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

She was a Remain supporter in the referendum and both official campaigns have suspended their operations as a mark of respect following the attack on her.

She has two children with husband Brendan who shortly after the attack Tweeted a picture of her next to the River Thames, where they lived in a houseboat.

She graduated from Cambridge University in 1995 and worked as an adviser for former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, and Baroness Kinnock.

Ms Cox was a vocal advocate for the victims of the Syrian civil war and abstained in last autumn's contentious vote on allowing British military action in Syria.

Mr Cox, a former advisor to ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, spent Wednesday campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU.

He posted photographs of himself and the couple's two young children travelling along the Thames in a dinghy during a counter-protest against a pro-Brexit flotilla of vessels.

Speaking at the conference Ms Collins said trained officers were with the MP's immediate family who were "fully aware" of what had taken place.

Ms Collins explained detectives were not looking for anyone else in connection with killing.

She said: "Clearly, as this inquiry is at a very early stage and we have an individual under arrest, we are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time. We are not looking for anyone in connection with this incident."

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson branded the attack as "shocking" and "senseless".

He said: "I have worked closely with Jo since she was elected and I am deeply shocked that such a talented young woman has been so senselessly attacked and killed whilst working in her constituency and serving her community.

"This is a truly shocking incident but I want to try and reassure communities that our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact."

The force announced that additional officers are on patrol in the area to provide reassurance and support and that some weapons had been recovered.

Both sides in the EU referendum battle announced that they are suspending planned campaign events on Friday.

And the BBC said it was cancelling Thursday evening's editions of political TV programmes Question Time and This Week, which would have focused on the campaign for the June 23 vote.