Labour MP Jo Cox
A gardener accused of stabbing and shooting Labour MP Jo Cox a week before the EU referendum vote will stand trial for her murder, the Old Bailey heard today.
Thomas Mair, 53, allegedly stabbed the MP for Batley and Spen as she went to meet constituents at a regular surgery meeting, before shooting her three times with a modified rifle.
The 41-year-old mother-of-two, who was only elected as an MP in May last year, died in hospital just over an hour after the attack, in Birstall, West Yorkshire on June 16.
Mair, from the Field Head Estate in Birstall, was due to appear at the Old Bailey this morning via videolink from HMP Belmarsh, but the link to the hearing did not work.
In his absence, Mr Justice Saunders made pre-trial arrangements and remanded Mair in custody until a formal plea hearing on October 4.
Prosecutor Tom Little confirmed there will be a trial, told the court the issues in the trial will be “factual”.
Following assessment by doctors defence counsel Cairns Nelson said Mair will not rely on medical issues in his case.
Mair is said to have carried out the murder just seven days before Britain voted to leave the European Union, during a bitterly fought campaign in which Ms Cox was a vocal supporter of the Remain camp.
The killing of Ms Cox sent shockwaves throughout the UK and around the world, with President Barack Obama calling personally to offer condolences to her widower Brendan.
At a vigil in Birstall’s market square afterwards, her sister Kim Leadbeater described the MP as “perfect”, telling the crowd: “Jo would want us to focus on that which unites us not which divides us. She will live on through good people in the world.”
He has not yet entered a plea to any of the charges.
The judge remanded him in custody until the trial which is due to start on November 14.
