British politician shot, 2 people injured in attack

An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother-of-two was left lying bleeding on the pavement after the attack, which happened near the town’s library where she held regular advice surgeries.

BBC radio reported that Cox had been taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital.

” ‘When I looked round there’s a man stood there in his 50s with a white baseball cap on and a jacket with a gun, an old fashioned looking gun in his hand, ‘ he said…”

He said: “The man stepped back with the gun and fired it and then he fired a second shot”.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Very concerned about reports Jo Cox has been injured”.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family at the moment”.

Immigration has been a flashpoint in the referendum campaign, with many “leave” supporters eager to curb the number of migrants to Britain by leaving the European Union, which operates on the principle of free movement of people between member states.

Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the murder scene, told the Press Association: “He was shouting ‘put Britain first.’ He shouted it about two or three times”. The MP was targeted after she became involved in an altercation between two arguing men, they said.

The man arrested in connection with killing has been named as Tommy Mair, a 52-year-old “loner”, according to Sky News reporters.

Peterborough politicians have expressed their shock after an MP was killed after she was stabbed and shot in the street today.

FILE In this May 12, 2015 file photo, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox poses for a photograph.

Both sides of the European Union referendum took the decision out of respect for the MP.

The whole incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, Mr Abdallah said.

Julie Elliott, who represents Sunderland Central, said: “Jo was a truly remarkable woman who will be deeply missed by all who knew her”.

“The cost will be very high also for us”, he said, adding however: “The EU will survive, I have no doubt, it is still much easier to survive when you are 27 member states than completely alone”.

“She worked both for Oxfam and the anti-slavery charity, the Freedom fund, before she was elected past year as MP for Batley and Spen – where she was born and grew up”.

The New Zealand Labour Party’s current housing spokesman and Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford has paid tribute to British Labour MP Cox who was shot and stabbed to death overnight.

“She was the most powerful advocate for the people of Syria, ensuring their plight stayed on the political agenda as well as reminding us all of our country’s proud record of humanitarianism and brought her expertise to bear on some of the most pressing global challenges of our time”.