British woman MP shot dead

A BRITISH member of parliament was shot dead in the street in northern England yesterday, causing deep shock across Britain and the suspension of campaigning for next week’s referendum on the country’s EU membership.

Jo Cox, 41, a politician for the opposition Labour Party and vocal supporter of Britain remaining in the European Union, was attacked as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents near Leeds.

Cox was left bleeding on the pavement after reportedly being shot and stabbed in the village of Birstall, witnesses said.

West Yorkshire Police said a 52-year-old man had been arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm were recovered.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known.

One witness, local cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, said Cox had been shot three times.

“He shot this lady once and then he shot her again, he fell to the floor, leant over and shot her once more in the face area,” he told the BBC.

Sky News television quoted unconfirmed reports that the shooter shouted “Britain first” -possibly a reference to a far-right group with the same name.

The attack halted a frantic day of campaigning, as two new opinion polls indicated that more Britons now want to leave the EU than want to stay.

If they prove correct, Britain would become the first country in the nearly six-decade history of the bloc to leave.

Prime Minister David Cameron was already on his way to Gibraltar when news of the attack broke, on the first trip to the rocky outcrop on the southern coast of Spain by a British premier since 1968.

Cameron said the killing of Cox, who was married with two children and had worked on US President Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. “We have lost a great star,” the Tory leader said.

“She was a great campaigning MP . . . with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The whole of the Labour Party and Labour family – and indeed the whole country – will be in shock at the horrific murder of Jo Cox today.”

British politicians are not in parliament ahead of the June 23 referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU.

Rival referendum campaign groups said they were suspending activities for the day and Cameron said he would pull out of a planned rally in Gibraltar.

It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on the referendum.

“Until it’s clear who was responsible and what their motivation was, all it does is stop the campaign when the ‘Remain’ side probably would not want it to be stopped,” University of Strathclyde politics professor John Curtice said.

The pro-EU campaign has fallen behind the Leave camp in pre-referendum polls. – Reuters