Thomas Mair, a white supremacist, has been found guilty of murdering British MP and mother of two Jo Cox.
The 41-year-old Labour politician was shot three times and repeatedly stabbed in her constituency in northern England a week ahead of the UK’s in-out referendum on EU membership.
Mair was handed a whole-life sentence and can only be released by the Interior Minister.
Old Bailey Judge Justice Wilkie concluded the act was premeditated. Mair is said to have thoroughly researched his intended victim and knew Cox was the mother of young children.
The trial heard the 53-year-old shouted “Britain first” and “Keep Britain independent” as he carried out the attack and he told the arresting officers he was a political activist. Cox had campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU.
Jurors were asked not to consider his motives, but to decide simply whether or not he was guilty of murder.
Cox’s death sent shockwaves around Britain and further afield.
A former resident of Brussels, she will be commemorated in the European capital with a public space in her name.
Jo Cox's sister Kim Leadbetter: "There may have been one act of cowardice, but there were many acts of bravery" https://t.co/nqq8xeKUoY— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 23, 2016
