THE killer of Jo Cox MP has been branded an ‘enemy to democracy’ by Wokingham’s MP.
Speaking at a political discussion hosted by The Piggott School, in Twyford Road, Wargrave, this morning, John Redwood said that yesterday’s events in Birstall, West Yorkshire, in which Labour MP for Batley and Spen and mother-of-two Jo Cox was murdered in her own constituency, should not deter MPs from going out and meeting with the public.
The discussion at the Church of England school was intended to be an EU Referendum debate between Mr Redwood and Andrew Lebrecht, the former UK Deputy Permanent Representative of the EU, but all referendum campaigning has been put on hold in a mark of respect to Mrs Cox.
Mr Redwood said: “This is the third political colleague who I have seen murdered during my career. I was lucky enough to escape the bombing by the IRA in Brighton [in 1984], but two of my conservative colleagues were killed.
“What happened yesterday should not force MPs to retreat, or be forced behind barriers. We live in a free democracy where the public has the ability to question and lobby their representatives, and MPS have the right to hold surgeries and discussions within their constituencies.
“Yesterday was a very sad day for British politics, but it was also a day for us to put aside our political differences and to defend our democratic system.
“Murder is always unacceptable, and the person who loses their life so often should have had many years of life ahead of them. When someone is killed in the public eye, it always has a much wider impact.
“It’s an attack on us all, it is an attack on the system. I believe that her killer is an enemy to democracy, and I for one will not be scared into hiding away or backing down from my responsibilities.”
Mr Lebrecht said: “As a civil servant I have worked with many members of parliament over the years, and I think they are very hard-working people.
“I didn’t know Jo, I didn’t have the opportunity to work with her, but she seemed to be one of those special people who really cared about her constituents and was trying to change the world for the better.”
Mrs Cox died after being shot and stabbed in a street in Birstall, near Leeds, yesterday afternoon. A 52-year-old man has been arrested.
