Thomas Mair given a whole life sentence after brutal gun and knife attack
THE FASCIST terrorist who shot and stabbed Labour MP Jo Cox at the height of the EU referendum campaign has been convicted of her murder after a seven day Old Bailey trial.
Mair, who entered no plea and made no defence during the trial, was obsessed with an ideology of white supremacy, the Nazis and apartheid South-Africa.
He will serve a whole life sentence for murder, as the prosecution chose not pursue a conviction for terrorism.
“It was a vicious ruthless and determined attack.” Justice Wilkie
Upon making his judgement, the judge Mr Justice Wilkie told Mair: “There is no doubt that this murder was done to advance the cause of violent white nationalism.
“It was a vicious ruthless and determined attack. You returned to inflict further injuries on Jo when it seemed she might survive.”
Mair attacked Cox, then MP for Batley and Spen, with a sawn-off hunting rifle and a dagger on 16 June.
Bernard Carter-Kenny, a 77 year old coal miner who rushed to Cox’s defence, was also stabbed in the attack. Mair has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm for this part of the assault. Mair was also found guilty of the possession of an offensive weapon, the second world war replica dagger used in the attack.
Jo Cox’s husband, Brendan Cox, responds to the verdict
Jo lit up our lives. And she still does. #JoCox #TruePatriot #MoreInCommon pic.twitter.com/PoSkBT7D97
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) November 23, 2016
Cox, 41, was a noted campaigner for the alleviation of the suffering of Syrian and other refugees, and a proponent of numerous international causes for social justice. She was the mother of two small children.
When police raided Mair’s home after the attack, they found a horde of neo-nazi magazines and books, as well has an Eagle and swastika statuette. Mair contributed $620 dollars to the US nazi outfit the National Alliance.
The court heard that during the attack Mair screamed nationalists slogans including “Britain first” and “this is for Britain”.
So-called ‘lone wolf’ far-right attacks have been among the most lethal form of terrorism in Europe in recent decades.
A report released by the Royal United Services Institute in June 2016 found that 96 had been killed and 260 injured by far right individuals acting alone between 2000 and 2014, compared to just 16 killed in the same time period by religiously inspired lone attacks. Researchers and campaigners have long warned that the dangers of far-right terrorism are frequently overlooked.
Picture courtesy of Jo Cox Facebook
