Cops ‘were stepping up security’ for murdered MP Jo Cox after she received threatening messages for three months before she was killed
The mum-of-two, gunned down in broad daylight, reportedly thought little of the threats until the volume and frequency increased
DETECTIVES were in the process of boosting security for MP Jo Cox in the months leading up to her being murdered in her constituency, it was reported last night.
The mother-of-two gunned down in broad daylight had already reported receiving a series of persistent harassing messages to police.
A source close to Mrs Cox’s office told The Times police were in the process of boosting security at her London houseboat after they were forced to caution a man over sending harassing messages.
They said that Mrs Cox had “thought little of them” until the “volume and frequency stepped up.”
A man was cautioned over sending the messages however police have confirmed this was not the same man who was arrested on Thursday following the attack
A source close to her office said that the police were “very quick to act in London and in Yorkshire” once the messages had been reported about three months ago.
Mrs Cox originally “thought little of them” until the “volume and frequency stepped up”.
They said: “She wasn’t the kind of person who worried about her safety but her office persuaded her to.
“The police were in the process of getting extra security for her houseboat where she lived but it was delayed in getting started for the usual bureaucratic reasons.
“They were also in touch with local police about doing the same and step up the security at her constituency office.
“Whether they thought a threat was imminent I don’t know but they definitely took it seriously and wanted to address the problem as soon as possible.”
Tommy Mair, a mentally ill loner, is in police custody after tragic MP Jo Cox was shot in the head three times and stabbed repeatedly with a foot-long knife.
Jo, 41, was dragged to the floor by her hair and then gunned down at point-blank range by a man armed with an antique pistol.
He shot her three times as she left a constituency surgery at 12.50pm in Birstall, West Yorks.
Witnesses told how the alleged killer, identified as Thomas Mair, 52, calmly stood over her and reloaded each time before executing Jo with a final bullet to the head.
As the mum of two lay dying, he stabbed her at least seven times.
Witnesses told of the horrifying moment the gunman opened fire as Jo left Birstall library.
She had earlier taken assembly for pupils at Hightown Primary School in nearby Liversedge.
Gas engineer Clarke Rothwell, 42, was working close to the scene when he heard the first shot.
'There was blood everywhere' Horrific eyewitness accounts of Labour MP Jo Cox’s murder
The mum of two was shot and repeatedly stabbed 'with a foot long knife' in broad daylight
Horrifying eyewitness accounts have emerged describing the moment Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered by a loner gunman.
The mum of two was shot and repeatedly stabbed “with a foot long knife” in broad daylight this afternoon as dozens of shocked locals looked on.
Eyewitness, Clarke Rothwell who runs a nearby cafe, told the BBC he believed the MP had been shot and stabbed multiple times.
"Three times she was shot, the initial time which then she dropped to the floor and two more times. The third time he got close proximity he shot her round the head area,” he said.
"In the meantime he was stabbing her as well, he was stabbing her with his knife,” he added.
Mr Rothwell said there was blood everywhere at the scene.
Asked if he thought Ms Cox had intervened in a dispute he said he understood the altercation was "always between the guy carrying the gun and the lady that got shot".
Aamir Tahir, of The Dry Clean Centre, said the gunman was heard shouting "Britain first".
He said: "The lady I work with heard two loud bangs but I wasn't there, I was stuck in traffic at the time. I wish I was there because I would have tried to stop him. The whole street thinks it was me but it wasn't.
"Apparently the guy who did it shouted 'Britain first' and if I had been there I would have tackled him."
Another witness has described the aftermath of the shooting to the Mirror.
Amanda Barber, 38, from Birstall, said: "I noticed something different straight away – there were a lot of people running about and cars stopped.
There was a lady laying on the floor beside a car outside the library with people all around her.
"At one point a woman shouted ‘oh my god, she’s stopped breathing’.
"She wasn’t moving – she was laid down and unconscious, no movement or anything.
"There was a female officer trying to do CPR on her as I left."
She added: "I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never personally seen or heard anything like this before."
A third eyewitness has described how the gunman shot Ms Cox "once" then "again"; and "once more".
"He shot her once, then shot her again...shot her once more," they told the BBC.
He said: “It was a popping sound, not like you imagine a gunshot to sound like.
“I turned and saw the woman fall to the floor. She had Muslim women around her trying to help.
“She was screaming in pain and panic. Her friends were screaming and shouting for help.
“The man had an old-fashioned gun that he had to reload manually after the first shot.
“After he shot her at point-blank range he shot her the second time while she was lying on the ground.
“All the time as he was reloading he was stabbing her again and again on the ground in her body and shouting ‘Britain first! Britain first! Britain first!’
“The knife had a black blade about a foot long.” But there was confusion over whether he had screamed: “Britain first.”
On Friday West Yorkshire Police confirmed that officers from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit have joined the investigation into her death.
Dry cleaner Aamir Tahi was quoted after the shooting, saying: “Apparently the guy who did it shouted ‘Britain first’. If I had been there I would have tackled him.”
But a sign last night hung in the window of the Dry Clean 2U store close to the murder scene with the words: “Please note. I did NOT tackle the gunman.
“NO-ONE shouted Britain first at ANY TIME.”
A 77-year-old hero who heard screaming tried to bundle the attacker to the floor but was stabbed and left bleeding.
Mr Rothwell, part of a six-to-eight strong group who ran to the scene, added: “The attacker fired one more shot to her head and at that point it looked like she had passed away.
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“One of us tried to intervene but got stabbed in the stomach, blood poured out of his wound and he fell to the ground.”
Coffee shop owner Hisham Ben-Abdallah, 56, said: “Between the first and second shot, there was a three or four-second delay.
“Jo was ducking away from the knife attack. She ended up on the ground and he was kicking her repeatedly as he shot her.
A husband's grief: Partner of Jo Cox posts poignant picture of murdered MP and mum-of-two ‘who lived every day to the full
THE distraught husband of Jo Cox posted a heartbreaking photo of his late wife just hours after she was shot dead in the street by a gunman.
And in a heart-rending tribute to the 41-year-old mother-of-two, Brendan said: "Today 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.
"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.
"She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.
"Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisionous.
"Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full."
Elected to parliament in May last year, Cox led a life devoted to service and helping those less fortunate than herself.
A vocal campaigner for charity Oxfam, the Cambridge graduate had fought to see the UK provide aid to help Syrian refugees fleeing the country’s civil war.
Jo Cox lay bleeding on the floor after the attack
“The man looked raged. He then walked calmly away.”
The attacker fled on foot, throwing off his coat as he headed out of Birstall.
But he was pursued by two cops who cornered him in a cul-de-sac a mile away.
Witness Phil Harris, 69, said: “He was bleeding from his head, just above his left eye.
“They’d knocked him to the ground. They’d followed him all the way from the village centre in a police car.
“They didn’t shout anything at him. They just stood over him.
The aid worker who became an MP: How Jo Cox spent 10 years working in war zones
Live updates following the attack on Jo Cox MP
Before becoming an MP last May mother-of-two Jo Cox spent 10 years as an aid worker in war zones all over the world.
The outspoken Labour politician is widely respected for her campaign work, especially on the Syrian Civil War.
After being elected for the constituency of Batley and Spen in Yorkshire she became the chair of the Friends of Syria All Party Group.
She rose to prominence last October when she broke ranks and called for targeted UK military action in Syria to protect civilians.
Penning a joint article with Andrew Mitchell, she argued British military forces could help achieve an ethical conflict in Syria.
But the 41-year-old abstained from the subsequent vote for military action as she said she did not consider it would be part of an effective strategy in tackling the situation in the war-torn country.
She was one of the 36 MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership election last summer.
Despite nominating him she voted for Liz Kendall and later said she regretted nominating the veteran leftie.
She was born in Batley, West Yorkshire, and was the first person in her family to go to university – graduating from Cambridge in 1995.
After university, Jo worked in Parliament for Joan Walley MP, and helped to launch the pro-European campaign organisation Britain in Europe and worked with Baroness Glenys Kinnock in Brussels.
She then spent a decade working in a variety of roles with aid agency Oxfam before working with Gordon Brown's wife Sarah to push for international action to stop mums and babies dying needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth.
As the chair of the Labour Women's Network for four years she worked to try and encourage more women to enter public life.
“He looked to be unconscious at first but then he started talking to them. They bandaged him up and then grabbed his holdall.
“Inside it was a carrier bag which is where he hid the gun.
“Moments later 12 armed cops with machine guns turned up and there was a helicopter overhead.”
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Mair, a community volunteer with a history of mental health problems, was taken away as paramedics fought to save Jo’s life.
They tried to resuscitate her on the ground before she was flown to Leeds General Infirmary by air ambulance where she was pronounced dead.
Jo’s devastated widower, political activist Brendan Cox, dashed from their home in London to Leeds.
Last night he said: “She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.”
A London neighbour of Jo Cox said her husband was "in bits" following the horrific killing.
Anne Wainwright chair of the Heritage Moorings said: "I spoke to Jo's husband Brendan last night and we've exchanged some messages.
"He's obviously in bits, I can't imagine what he's going through. And her parents as well, it's so terrible, we're in such shock.
"I'm not sure when her family are coming back but when Brendan comes back we'll talk about any further tributes as a community.
Politicians suspended EU referendum campaigning for the day as David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn led tributes.
Last night, a memorial service was held for Jo at St Joseph's Church in Birstall.
She is the first MP to be murdered since 1990 when Tory Ian Gow was killed by an IRA car bomb — and she is the only woman slain while serving as an MP in the UK Parliament.
Last night the motive for the attack was unclear although some seized on eyewitness accounts of the suspect apparently shouting “Britain first” as an indication it had been inspired by the referendum campaign.
Paul Golding, leader of far-right party Britain First, dismissed any link to the attacker.
He said: “Jo Cox was campaigning to keep Britain in the EU so if it was shouted by the attacker it could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party.
“We’re just as shocked as everyone else. Britain First obviously is not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort.”
It was earlier thought Jo had intervened in a fight between two men. But it is now believed her attacker was lying in wait outside the library where she was holding the surgery.
Mair told his local newspaper six years ago how he started working as a community volunteer at a park.
He learned about the opportunity at a day centre for adults with mental health problems.
Temporary Chief Constable for West Yorkshire Dee Collins said last night: “Jo was attacked by a man who inflicted serious and sadly, ultimately fatal injuries.
EU referendum campaigning suspended due to tragic death of Labour MP Jo Cox
Both sides of the EU referendum have suspended campaigning tonight due to the tragic killing of Labour MP Jo Cox.
The 41-year-old mother-of-two was brutally attacked in the street in Birstall, West Yorkshire, by a gunman who shot her three times and stabbed her with a foot-long knife.
She died before she even reached hospital and MPs on both sides have been paying their respects this afternoon.
A 52-year-old man, named locally as Tommy Mair, has been arrested.
Mrs Cox was stabbed multiple times with a 'foot-long knife' while her assailant shouted 'put Britain first', witnesses said.
It's believed she was trying to intervene in a dispute between two men when she was brutally attacked.
Her husband Brendan has urged people to ‘fight against the hatred that killed her’.
David Cameron has cancelled a campaign trip to Gibraltar out of respect for the Batley and Spen MP.
Speaking on the Vote Leave battle bus earlier today Boris Johnson announced a Brexit trip to Ipswich had been cancelled.
He said: “We have decided to suspend all campaigning.
"Penny and I will both be going back to London to find out more.
"Our thoughts are very much with Jo and her family.”
And Stronger In tweeted: "We are suspending all campaigning for the day.
"Our thoughts are with Jo Cox and her family."
Tonight's BBC Question Time and This Week, which had been due to focus on the EU referendum, have both been cancelled.
Jo Cox was one of the MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership contest last summer and in a statement he paid tribute to her lifelong record of public service.
Before becoming an MP last May she was an aid worker and Mr Corbyn said: "Jo was dedicated to getting us to live up to our promises to support the developing world and strengthen human rights.
"In the coming days, there will be questions about how and why she died.
"But for now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children.
"They will grow up without their Mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved and what she stood for."
And David Cameron tweeted: “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.”
“Subsequently there was a further attack on a 77-year-old man nearby who has sustained injuries that are non-life threatening.
“Shortly afterwards a man was arrested nearby by local uniformed police officers, weapons including a firearm have also been recovered.
“Our working presumption is this is a lone incident.”
Mair’s neighbour Kathleen Cooke, 62, said last night: “I am really shocked. He walked past my house this morning and said hello like he always does.
“He was wearing a grey T-shirt and his white baseball cap like he always does and he was carrying a small rucksack.”
Britain First slam MP attack as 'disgusting'
Political party Britain First have vehemently denied they knew anything of the attack.
The group's leader, former British National Party councillor Paul Golding, said: “She has been out campaigning to keep Britain in the EU and there are people in the area that are against it.
“'I don't think it was one of our supporters. We stand in elections and organise protests - we don't encourage this kind of nonsense.
“She has a young family - an attack on a mum like that is disgraceful.
“Whether you agree with Labour, to have had that happen to her on the streets is shocking and an indictment of the state of this country.”
“I hope the person who carried out this heinous crime gets what he deserves.”
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