Labour MP Jo Cox is in a critical condition after being injured during a shooting in her constituency. Eyewitnesses said the MP for Batley and Spen was attacked close to a library in Birstall, near Leeds, where she has previously held advice surgeries. A 52-year-old man has been arrested. Reports, that have not been confirmed, suggest the attacker shouted ‘Britain First’ shortly before the incident. West Yorkshire Police said they were aware of an ‘ongoing incident’. A police spokesman said:
‘At 12.53 today, police were called to a report of an incident on Market Street, Birstall, where a woman in her 40s has duffered serious injuries and is in a critical condition. A man in his late 40s nearby also suffered slight injuries.’
Mum-of-two Cox was elected as an MP in 2015. According to her website, Jo is co-chair of the Friends of Syria All Party Parliamentary Group and is an active member of parliamentary groups working on Palestine, devolution, Pakistan, Kashmir and Yorkshire’s regional economy. A witness to the attack told Sky News: ‘I heard the first shot and ran away, as everyone else did. Then we heard the second shot.’
The Prime Minister said in a tweet that he was ‘very concerned about reports Jo Cox has been injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family’. Jeremy Corbyn said he was ‘utterly shocked by the news of the attack on Jo Cox.’ The Labour leader went on to say that ‘the thoughts of the whole Labour Party are with her and her family at this time’. Both the ‘Remain’ and ‘Leave’ campaigns suspended their activities for the day following the shooting.
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