Euro 2016 Outside Source

Welcome to outside source. The light is fading on a dark day for British

politics. Here in west Yorkshire a local member of Parliament has been

killed, tack in the street. Jo Cox was a wife, a mother of two, a

former aid worker, stabbed and shot by her attacker. The 52-year-old man

was arrested close to the scene, named locally as Tommy Mair. Weapons

including a firearm have also been recovered. This picture of Jo Cox

was posted by her husband, Brendan, and social media, tributes are being

paid at the highest level of British politics. We have lost a great star,

a great campaigning MP with huge compassion and they are at heart.

People will be very sad at what has happened, this dreadful, dreadful

news. This time next week we will be into the last hour of voting of the

UK referendum of the membership of the European Union but both sides of

the debate have suspended their campaigns.

The ability to choose and change our representatives is at the heart of

our democracy here in Britain. Last year in 2015 in the general election

Jo Cox was elected to represent this area in West Yorkshire. Also at the

heart of our dumb Chrissy is the connection between an MP and their

constituents. -- our democracy. Behind me, in the library where I am

speaking Behind me, in the library where I am

beaten to you, she was due to meet constituents and discuss their

concerns. She was attacked on the pavement, shot and stabbed, and

despite being rushed to hospital in nearby Leeds, died from her

injuries. Police say they have arrested a 52-year-old man, locals

are naming him as Tommy Mair, police have described a motive but have

said they are not looking for anybody else as part of

investigations. One eyewitness told the BBC that they heard the attacker

shout, put Britain first, before the attack. It all happened one week

before the referendum on UK membership of the European Union.

Both sides have suspended their campaigns today on hearing the news

of this attack in West Yorkshire. Let me take you through the events

of the day with the help of Ed Thomas.

This morning, Birstall was a quiet Yorkshire town.

Now it is full of armed police, full of unanswered

Why was the local MP, Jo Cox, shot and stabbed in the middle

I saw him pull out of the gun, then he fired one shot.

This man watched the attack on his local MP.

It never crossed your mind that it was the MP

Jo Cox had been stabbed and shot, she was rushed to Leeds General

infirmary, but at 5pm police later confirmed she died

infirmary, but at 5pm police confirmed she died

Just before one o'clock she was attacked on market Street, Birstall,

I am now very sad to report she died as a result of her injuries.

My thoughts go out to her husband, the family, their friends, their

pain is unimaginable and our thoughts and prayers are with them

Within minutes of the attack this footage was filmed close by, the BBC

understands that the man being arrested was called Tommy Mair.

All day, police forensic teams searched

Neighbours are struggling to understand what happened.

He just walked right past, like he does.

He likes his gardening and stuff like that.

Jo Cox was an MP for barely over a year but

her reputation was growing, accessible, always willing to

Minutes before the attack she was in her local library talking

A down-to-earth, loving, caring person, you could ask anything and

Tonight, her husband released this picture of his wife.

Not just an MP but also a mother to two young

children, a reminder of what has been taken.

Ed Thomas has spoken to a man called Clark Rothwell who witnessed the

horrific attack. I will play you that account of what happened. I

should warn you that you may find it distressing.

Basically I finished work. I went to get a sandwich for my dinner. I had

a loud noise behind me, like a car backfiring. I was not aware it was a

gunshot. I turned around to look, and heard a woman screaming. Then a

guy was bent over a woman, her legs were sticking out, it looked like he

had a gun in his hand, he shot her again on the floor. She was crawling

away, to other people were wrestling to try to get the guy off. He then

wielded a knife. They backed off, fearing for their own safety. What

did he say? Britain first, or put Britain first. He shouted it at

least twice. We are in the middle of a ferocious campaign over whether

the UK should remain in the European Union. We have seen divisions across

British politics in the past few weeks. On hearing of the terrible

loss British politicians have spoken as one. First, the Prime Minister,

David Cameron. This is absolutely tragic and a

dreadful news. My thoughts are with the husband and the children and the

wider family. We have lost a great star. She was an MP, a great

campaigning MP with huge compassion and a big heart. People will be very

sad at what has happened, this dreadful, dreadful news. It is right

to suspend campaigning activity in the referendum, the thoughts of

everyone with the of Cho and her constituents at this terrible time.

There has been an outpouring of grief, what did you know of Jo Cox?

That she was a very strong campaigning MP with a great track

record of campaigning for refugees and taking a big interest in how we

look after Syrian refugees. She had a huge heart, she was a passionate,

campaigning MP, a bright start, no doubt about it, a star for her

constituents, and across the house. But above all I am thinking of

Brendan and the children, and her constituents, who will be feeling

this huge sense of loss tonight. It is right we stop the campaigning

activity and think of them, and what they have lost. We heard from the

Prime Minister, we also heard from the Leader of the Opposition, the

leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn. Jo Cox was a Labour MP and

Jeremy Corbyn was also speaking. The Labour family are devastated

tonight. Jo Cox has been killed doing her duty, her work as a

constituency MP. She is somebody who dedicated her life to human rights

and justice. She worked for anti-slavery campaigns, Oxfam, and

she became an MP for the area where she was born and grew up and loved.

In Parliament she was respected across the whole house. Somebody

with a deep commitment and passion for human rights and justice. Sadly,

today, she was killed on the streets of her constituency, doing her duty

as a local MP, helping people. She leaves behind a husband, a wonderful

man, who, likewise, spends his life campaigning for human rights and

justice. And she leaves behind two young children, who will never grow

up to see them ever again. They can be proud of what she was, they can

be proud of what she did, and they can be very proud of everything that

she stood for. We come together at a time like this. We come together to

support the family and two more in, and to reflect. Violence is not the

answer. It is not the answer to anything. We need to come together

and express our deepest condolences to Jo and her family, we have lost a

wonderful woman, a wonderful member of Parliament, but our democracy

will go on, the work will go on, as we mourn the memory we will work for

her memory to achieve the better world she spent her life trying to

achieve. Jeremy Corbyn talking earlier. I live -- I am talking live

from Birstall where she was attacked, a profoundly upsetting day

for the locals, their MP brutally attacked on the street just across

from the square where they have the local market in the mornings. The

world media has descended, along with many people wishing to pay

tribute to Jo Cox, not just from the village but from across the

constituency. We can talk now to a local resident, Pam, you have just

come from a vigil for Jo Cox? I have indeed. People just bowing their

heads in silence, reflecting on their own memories of her. The

church was packed. It was very moving. Absolutely devastating news

that we have lost a very talented local resident. I just could not

fail to come today. I am absolutely devastated at the news. Can you

share what was said? Not much was said, just individual

players. People were asked to bow their heads in silence and have

their own reflection -- individual prayers. People are held her in high

regard regardless of political persuasion. Indeed. A real loss to

the Labour Party. When you think of her as a local MP, what did she mean

to you? She represented fairness. Nobody was

singled out, she represented everybody, Asian, white, black, she

was there for you, she worked there. It is still hard comprehend how the

day ended, giving it like any other? -- after it began like any other? We

were only just coming to terms with what happened in Orlando at the

weekend and now this, it is absolutely devastating. Our guest

was talking about Orlando, President Obama paid a visit there after the

horror of the weekend, and we will bring you that in the second half of

the programme. But the loss of Jo Cox is being keenly felt across her

constituency, the horror and the grief also keenly felt in

Westminster. In the next few minutes we will go there to hear what some

members of Parliament have been saying, paying tribute to what she

brought to the House of Commons since arriving in 2015.

Across the political spectrum we have heard tributes to Jo Cox, who

colleague Ben Bradshaw called her a dedicated public servant who

campaigned tirelessly for Syrian refugees. Here is more of what he

said. You could not have met a lovely person in the world. A

dedicated public servant. A mother, a wife, she did fantastic charity

work before entering Parliament, and in her year in Parliament she made

more of a market than anybody else with her campaigning against the

slaughter in Syria, on behalf of the Syrian refugees, she has been at the

forefront of the remaining campaign in the European referendum, and for

a young mother like her, an elected representative, to be struck down on

the street, it is really shocking, we are all still coming to terms

with it. Hello, live from West Yorkshire

after a local member of Parliament was attacked in the street and

subsequently died from her injuries. As I am talking one woman has walked

by with a single rose and a note, the king to lay it with other

flowers just across from where I am talking to you. -- looking to lay

it. Jo Cox was shot and stabbed and later died of her injuries. Some of

the other stories from BBC World Service: BBC Arabic is reporting

that the Egypt air plane which crashed into the Mediterranean last

month, the cockpit voice recorder has been found, and the so-called

black box damaged, but the memory unit retrieved. BBC Chinese has the

story of the Hong Kong book-seller held by mainland Chinese police last

year, he has returned to Hong Kong and said the confession he made for

illegal trading was forced. More reaction to the murder of Jo

Cox, a local MP in West Yorkshire in the north of England, attacked on

the pavement just behind me in front of the local library where she had

been planning to spend time with local constituents, airing their

concerns. The former Congresswoman, Gabrielle

Gifford, you may remember, shot last year, she has released a statement

saying... And the Spanish Prime Minister,

saying... And one more political reaction in

the UK, Boris Johnson has said... We go live now to Westminster and

Tom Bateman has been covering the story ever since we started getting

word that something awful has happened. This comes in the middle

of a feverish time for Westminster, with the referendum on UK membership

of the European Union. I guess all that has completely come a halt?

That is right, in very literal terms. Both sides of the referendum

campaign have said today that as a mark of respect they will cease

campaigning. Politics, in a way, is paused, in reflection, really, at

the terrible, tragic events we have heard about. It is unclear when the

campaign itself will get going again, it is just one week now until

polling begins. Westminster is a place we get so used to the high

energy, the politics of the House of Commons chamber, the animated

traffic, the tourists outside, but it feels like a much more quiet,

reflective taste and I'd. There's been a candlelit vigil attended by

the Labour leader, deputy leader, and other parliamentary colleagues,

and the union flag flies at half-mast to light above the

parlance of Westminster. These are unusual and very difficult times for

parliamentarians coming to terms with news that is just so

unbelievable. There is a profound sense of this belief. You need to go

back almost three decades to the last case of a member of Parliament

being killed is the result of a Camelot act, and that was in the

dying days of the Northern Ireland troubles. -- a criminal act. So

people are trying to come to terms, but they realise that, at some

point, the referendum campaign will need to get going again. But for

now, a time of reflection. In never did the politicians come in

for a lots of criticism -- inevitably. But perhaps this is a

reminder that away from the speeches and the photo Ops there's a lot of

hard work that goes on and away from the cameras and microphones, simply

serving constituents who elected them.

Absolutely, we often have the debate about politicians, what is the real

motivation? We hear how some people go into politics because they are

glory hunters, or is it really about wanting to make a difference, to do

good, to serve constituents? What has been so striking about the

tributes to Jo Cox is here was somebody newly elected very

recently, yes, making such a mark because of the campaigns she forged,

who wished to help Syrian refugees, her work for the NSPCC, for other

charities, which she continued to campaign on. We heard from Andrew

Mitchell, former international and element secretary, who said that

within weeks of her being an M P, despite being new, not knowing much

about the corridors of power, she sought out an opponent, of all my

government member, and went and knocked on his door and said she

wanted to start a committee with him to help Syrian refugees, so the

all-party group on the friends of Syria began. She co-chaired it. It

is really a testament to the way in which she made that mark in a short

space of time on all of her Parliamentary colleagues, of all

parties. I must ask you about the referendum.

I know that both sides of the camp and suspended their efforts but the

vote will go ahead. And it remains hugely significant to the future of

the UK and also the European Union. The campaigns cannot remain

suspended for ever. What do you hear from people within Westminster about

how they may proceed? We had a very packed schedule, even

today, for both sides of the campaign, out on the road and in the

TV studios, we are into the last days of the campaign and it is

increasingly fraught. Next week we have some big set piece events with

the Prime Minister and other senior figures who were due to carry out

the work, as I mentioned, just a week away from polling. So far

tonight we have simply a wish on behalf of both campaigns to not get

into it, and for the time being at least, understand that this is a

moment to reflect on the events that have happened. I expect that as we

get into tomorrow, we have heard the Labour side say there will be a

pause at least until the weekend, I expect as we get into tomorrow we

made more information about when things will start to get going again

on that front. A little while ago we spoke to a

local resident who had just been to the visual in the parish church.

Tributes were being paid to Jo Cox. A little earlier I spoke to the

local vicar. She was lively and determined to

work for the community, just a lovely person. Sometimes when we

talk about politicians they are divisive figures but I have not

heard anyone say anything negative about her regardless of their

politics. I am not aware of any of that. As I say, she was determined

to help this community, individuals and groups like. There are people

around the world who will not know this place, Birstall, can you tell

us about this? A community of 15,000 people, a retail park, a Jacobean

house, a paint factory, and churches. They are good people,

Yorkshire people. They have good hearts. Give us an idea of what

would have been happening here around lunchtime when the attack

took place. It is market day-to-day which is one of the reasons she was

his undoing her surgery -- she was here doing her surgery. The market

stalls, once a week. All the people come out to it, and the local shops

around. Behind the Reverend is the local library, where she would have

held the surgery. Hearing the concerns of constituents. That's

right, and advertised surgery, anybody could go along, to speak

about what ever they were concerned about. That was the Reverend Paul

Knight a little earlier. I want to show you what is happening right

now. Even though the light is fading the work of the police very much

goes on. Behind me you can see a large group of police wearing dark

clothing, looking very closely over an area close to where eyewitnesses

say the attack took place. Ever since I have been here, several

hours now, the police presence has continued in this part of the

street. Not just on the side of the road next to the library, where the

MP surgery would take place, a chance for her to talk with

constituents, we have not just seen the police in the dark clothing that

you can see now, but other officials as well, going about their work in

full body white suits with masks on, the forensic teams, working very

hard, and evidently, despite having been here since early afternoon, the

work still goes on for a great many police. That is just one shot we can

show you of what is happening in the street where the attack took place.

But if I look across to my right there are other police, a series of

streets all around were this attack took place, completely sealed off by

policemen and women as they go about their investigations. But let's

reiterate, they have already arrested a 52-year-old man, named

locally as Tommy Mair, and they say they are not looking to find anyone

else in relation to the investigation. I will return in a

few moments as