17/06/2016 Newsnight

Tonight, a vigil in Westminster to pay respects to the MP

We hear from her Labour colleague, who warned Westminster chiefs

several times more security was needed for MPs.

I don't think that the system is right at the moment to be able to

I've said in terms, an MP will be shot, this

Referendum campaigning continues to be suspended.

We ask if this marks a turning point in the way democracy

The Shadow Leader of the House has told Newsnight

he repeatedly voiced grave concerns about the security of MPs

Chris Bryant said he had even told Westminster security chiefs that

an MP could get shot unless they were offered greater

Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, was killed on her

constituency doorstep in broad daylight yesterday.

Tonight, West Yorkshire Police say links to right-wing

extremism will form part of their investigation,

and the man found at the scene of the crime remains

There is plenty of speculation about the killer's mental

health and motivation, but at this stage, very little fact.

We'll hear from Chris Bryant in a moment,

but our first report tonight comes from John Sweeney, in Batley.

The mood is not just melancholic but anxious, too,

as a West Yorkshire market town and the whole of British

politics struggles to come to terms with the loss of an extraordinary

You can see the impact that the murder of Jo Cox has had

referendum campaign, which has been suspended,

the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have

come to Batley to pay their respects.

We should recognise that politics is about public service,

They want to act in the national interest, to pursue the national

interest, to do things for other people, to make the country

Politicians disagree with each other.

We often disregard what politicians say and we disregard each

that is what it is about and that is what Jo showed it is all about.

In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred

We will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech.

I'm deeply sorry and deeply sad at what has happened to her.

The flag on the sports and social club is flying at half-mast.

This woman had heard the shots that killed Jo yesterday.

I heard loads of screaming and I thought someone had

Then the next thing, gunshots and somebody screaming

and all of Birstall were just running that way.

I thought it were a random, somebody were getting shot, you know,

Just a normal, down-to-earth Yorkshire girl, yeah, a

She was from Heckmondwike, just down the road.

My grandchildren talk about all the time.

My grandchildren talk about her all the time.

She visits the mosque that they attend.

They just can't stop talking about her now.

So what do we know about the prime suspect, Tommy Mair?

Neighbours speak of a quiet loner, who reportedly had attended

a daycare centre for people with mental health issues.

The 52-year-old subscribe to the proapartheid South Africa Patriot

magazine in the 1990s. -- in the 1980s.

In 1999, he was linked to the American neo-Nazi group,

National Alliance, buying gun manuals and instructions

In all, Mair spent $620 on the Alliance.

Newsnight understands that a UK distributor for

National Alliance material was set up in 1990 in Leeds.

On current evidence, Mair's interest in the far

right petered out more than a decade ago.

However, tonight, West Yorkshire Police's Acting Chief

Constable, Dee Collins, said that Mair's far-right links are a

None of this will bring much comfort to Jo's

You are a politician. Do you feel safe?

I'm about to go off and do two surgeries this afternoon,

as politicians and Members of Parliament up and down

the country will be doing, week in, week out.

We sit down and people come and see us.

They cry, they tell us their stories,

they want a helping hand and a listening ear.

They want someone to try and support them.

That is a very precious part of our democratic life.

And so this attack on Jo was also an attack on our

democracy, because it is important that our elected representatives

But is it going to change the way in which we do our job?

No it isn't, because we are going to carry on because that is the best

way in which we can honour the memory of Jo

Tonight, people gathered across Britain to honour the memory of a

public servant whose life was cut far too short.

The daylight murder of an MP in her own constituency backyard

has thrown the question of security sharply into focus.

One man who has long warned that MPs were a vulnerable target was Chris

He spoke to our political editor, Nick Watt,

A lot of us have been arguing, I've been arguing in Parliament

for quite some time, that of course it's important

to make sure the Palace of Westminster itself is secure,

but actually the real risk in many cases would be

Whether they are in their surgery, or for that matter,

And of course nobody wants to lose the precious jewel in the British

democratic system which is, unlike an MP in Spain or whatever,

you can go and see your MP, in many cases without even making

And every single one of us wants to preserve that,

but I think there needs to be a proper risk assessment

I'm aware, especially since November last year,

there have been a very large number of individual threats

through from the stupid child on Twitter, through to much

We need to have a proper assessment of that.

A proper risk assessment in every constituency.

You have been raising concerns for some months now about the threat

to the security of MPs, not really at Westminster but

There are 43 police forces, and even within police forces

they have been reacting very, very differently according

So sometimes two MPs in different constituencies next door to each

other have been given conflicting advice.

And for that matter, there is no coordination from the centre.

There was meant to be, in January, every single MP

was meant to be contacted by their borough commander to have

I'd be surprised if a fifth of MPs had had contact

I think some senior MPs, the House of Commons commission,

you sit on that, it's a cross-party body,

some members of the commission have issued some strong warnings

They have been saying watch out, something could happen?

I've said in terms, an MP will be shot, this will happen.

And the truth is, we all know we can't guarantee that something

like this won't happen again, but we need to make sure we've taken

Not over-the-top precautions, just sensible precautions,

to maintain that relationship with the MP with his or her

constituents and maintain that in a secure way.

How do you feel that you issued that very strong warning and you've now

lost a dear friend and this action wasn't taken?

It's very, very difficult for anybody when they lose

a colleague, especially somebody like Jo.

And it's always very, very difficult for us to get

the policing arrangements right that fit every single circumstance.

But I'm just aware that probably every MP

in the land will have had, over the years, five,

six, seven different forms of death threats,

different forms of maybe attacks, and knowing which ones to take

really, really seriously, which ones to ignore,

that is a really difficult thing to do.

I think, I wish, I hope now that all the security services,

all the 43 police services in the land will come

together and say, you know, we are going to make sure

When you raised these concerns about the security of MPs,

was this because you obviously have personal experience of very

aggressive social media attacks, or was it more about specific events

in particular that controversial vote we had

There was a lot of stuff immediately after Syria.

To be honest, I don't know an MP who hasn't ended up with a stalker

in prison or somebody lobbing things through the office window,

But it has been particularly bad in the last few months,

I would hate the idea that there be a young person

of real talent out there, who is thinking of going

into politics, who would be frightened of doing so.

Of course, you have got to have thick skin in politics, I get that.

But often you're making a decision, not only for yourself,

but also for your family and for the people who work for you.

So, sometimes people might think we are being overly cautious,

but it's not really about us, it is about a wider set of people.

Obviously, you have concerns about the slow response,

but on this cross-party commission you sit with other MPs,

Do you think the government has been aware of these concerns

I know that my opposite number in the government shares

It may be that government or the Home Office needs to play

a specific role in making sure there is a proper coordination

of risk assessments for all the MPs in the land.

And that, for instance, when it is decided every borough

commander should get in touch with all the MPs on their patch,

Because otherwise there is a real danger that things will

MP Chris Bryant speaking to us from his home, there.

Referendum campaigning has been suspended these past few days.

Many are welcoming the relief the silence has brought.

The rhetoric on both sides, many would agree,

got to a fever pitch - threat, exaggeration,

The question is, has that gone for good now,

Chris Cook reports from the south coast on whether Jo Cox's death

will mark a turning point in the campaign

and in the way we view our Members of Parliament.

We have been here in Bognor for the past few days,

interviewing people for a film on the EU referendum.

But even before the terrible events in Yorkshire,

we were really struck by the venom that was felt by the people

we interviewed about our MPs and the Westminster elite.

So today, we gathered together some people from the town to talk

about whether this terrible event might actually change some

of the ways that people talk about their MPs and how

Everyone was, of course, appalled by the murder and sincerely

I think people forget the saddest part of this is her two

children and her husband, and her parents.

They praised Ms Cox but when asked what words they would use

about the average MP, they tended to be quite critical.

Is it possible in your experience that politicians are generally quite

good, they are better than we give them credit

for when you actually come across them, and they

Certainly, some politicians, I mean, we see on local social media,

some local, I would not say politicians but councillors

particularly will get quite a hard time, when I know that

in the background, they are doing a lot of good work

and they are actually trying their best to get

One of the things we hear a lot is, "I don't like politicians

but we're lucky here, we have got good ones in my local

If everyone thinks that, they might actually be quite good.

Everyone thinks their local politicians are quite good and maybe

But it is when you get up to Parliament and things like that,

I think generally, local MPs try to do their best for the local

Unfortunately, they are wrapped up by the system and it is the system

People can be elected with all the aspirations

of wanting to make change, but they get into the system

and find that sometimes, I've found it myself,

Chris, do you think this terrible news from Yorkshire,

do you think it will change the way people think about

I'm not sure that it will, to be honest.

It depends, again, it's going to depend on how it is spun,

I think, how the media and politicians actually use it.

It is horrible to say but it will get used.

But I don't see that it is going to change politics particularly.

I don't think it is going to change it at all.

I think everybody is going to step back and think, but beyond that,

I do feel that the country needs to reflect on that,

on politicians and the role they play in the community.

Do you think it's possible that it might change the way people vote

No? I don't think so.

As I say, it depends on the analysis of the reasons for the attack.

But I can see that people will be using it to use the racism angle,

the immigration angle, in their arguments.

Both the Leave campaign and the In campaign certainly need

to reflect on what has happened and how they conduct themselves

in the next few days, running up to the election.

I would hope the politicians will take note of it

and that they will be more thoughtful about their comments

The conclusion of that conversation matches pretty closely

with what we have heard from other local people in the past day.

Yes, this was an unspeakable tragedy but no, they don't expect the public

to change their views of MPs as a result and no,

they don't expect politics to change bring much, either.

they don't expect politics to change very much, either.

Let's talk through some of the last 24 hours

with Danny Finkelstein, Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry,

the MP, was killed by an IRA bomb and Douglas Murray of The Spectator.

Thank you all very much for coming. John, you have a personal respect if

on this, your father was killed by terrorism. I wonder from the ashes

of tragedy, you feel positive change can come from a moment like this? I

feel very deeply, the words of Jo's Husband, we need to unite against

hatred and that has been my journey since 1984, to bring compassion and

empathy, something positive out of it. To not carry on with the cycle

of revenge. This is a time we need to act in a way which is empathy and

understanding. I have just come from sharing with hat-trick McGee, 50

young people. We have worked together. We have different beliefs,

different political beliefs, but we can listen to each other with

respect, despite what has happened between us. You describe your

positive attitude, do you think that came back to you, did something

shift in terms of how you felt politics was being done? Is it too

big a question for terrorism perhaps? We need to bring a change

in politics. Danny, do you think this will mark a changing point? It

is a heart breaking thing to say this, but no, I don't really think

it will. Jo Cox were such an inspiring person to everyone who

knew her and everyone who is learning of her example, that he

would hope it would teach more of the values of compassion and

understanding and also commitment that she showed. Do I think it is

really going to change political debates? Sadly, I think the

experience is, these news stories and events make a huge impact.

People think at the time, got to do better and then it will slide. My

cool analysis would be, in time, it won't make the impact it deserves to

make. Any event that reminds us to behave well towards each other, to

engage in civilised discussion at an intelligent level, it is always

worth clinging onto, especially when it is something soap tragic and one

is desperate of something but to come out of something so awful.

Also, the Milly Dowell a moment or the Alan Kirtley moment, the picture

of the little Kurdish boy, do you have a sense we are at a shift in

point, or conduct will change as a result of this? I agree with Danny.

Things will pause. There is a pause at the moment and an absolutely

necessary reflection. This shouldn't be anybody involved in politics in

the country, who isn't thinking about that. I don't think anybody in

the country isn't thinking about that now, reflect on, thinking about

the politics we have, some of the behaviour, whether it is right or

not. This is necessary to have that pause. Also that we pause to

remember her work. But Danny says, things do move on and it is

important, we cannot give an individual gunmen, a murderer, a

terrorist of whatever ideological insanity they have, we cannot did

somebody like that the right to decide how we have our democracy and

how we debate and... One of your colleagues at the Spectator wrote

this week, we should cancel, not just the campaigning but the

referendum? I have some sympathy for that because it is hard to see how

things do go back to normal so fast. How will it happen? Did you notice

that, Jo, did you notice all the pledges slip away now and I'm trying

to hold people to their sort of, the highest level of conduct and it

doesn't work for very long? I think change is possible. If enough people

believe in it, I believe in people power. Enough people say, I am no

longer going to blame other people for my problems, I am going to be a

positive change maker, Unite and work together. We need to come

together and say, no more hate it, we are connected with our brothers

and sisters around the world, it is time to come together, I really

believe that. We have seen outpouring from around the world,

Danny. One of the voices who entered this was Angela Merkel, who paid her

respects and then made reference to the Brexit campaign being part of

this. Do you think it was in bad taste and an over step of the line?

I don't think anybody can say it was. Not on the basis of anything we

know, nor on the basis of probability. People don't go out and

do that because of their view on the European Union. This person sounds

very much like he was mentally ill as well as having extreme, political

ideas. It doesn't add up to a contribution to the referendum

campaign. Douglas was right, we should not treat it in that way

because it will distort the rest of the debate on this very important

democratic question and seek to somebody the right to interrupt our

democracy and we don't want to do that. A lot of people have talked

about the cessation or the pause, but there will be some who read into

this pause today, a certain underlying politicisation and say

any pause may promote or benefit the Remain camp because it shuts down

the leave voice. It was very politicising from Angela Merkel and

it is a shame it happened at this moment. The referendum has about 50%

of the country on one side and 50% on the other. Neither side is evil,

we are all discussing an important democratic issue about our future.

But we cannot allow, from what ever side you are on what you are

undecided about, we cannot allow somebody who is insane or driven by

an insane hatred, to move one way or the other. It would be the worst

thing imaginable for our democracy if assassins' vetoes were allowed to

rule. Where do we think we will hear the tone of the campaign now? Will

we lose the squabble from this, or the heat from this? Any capable

politician will want to reflect the mood of the moment and any decent

human being will want to do that also. On both sides there are both

types of those people. Whatever you might think about the long-term

impact of this, the short-term impact certainly will be, people

will make every attempt to take the heat down and make civilised and

balanced argument with each other. But political issues are important,

people feel passionately about them and you cannot take politics out of

politics. And you shouldn't. And Jo Cox was passionate about things

herself and she wouldn't want that to happen either. There is a passion

which will naturally come through as we get closer to Thursday, Jo? Yes,

and I think the day after will be interesting. There are risks who

have developed across community is through social media and it is time

to heal that and build bridges. I think it will be losing situation.

There has been a lot of harm done by of the hatred and this time it will

be time to heal it, build bridges and move on to gather. Thank you all

very much. So what does happen

to the campaign now? Nick Watt joins us from Cardiff

again, Nick what do we expect There is an important moment tonight

Kos the Times has endorsed a vote to remain in the European Union. The

times is an important part of our national discourse because it's not

all plain sailing for the Remain side. It has told the leaving side

it has been economical with its claims. Also a thunderous assault on

the European Union as it is, saying if David Cameron does when this

referendum, he has got to lead a big crusade for reform within the

European Union. The two campaigns remain suspended for the moment, but

there will be a significant moment tomorrow when International Monetary

publishes its annual health check on the UK economy and I think it won't

be any great surprise to anyone if we see it warns again of the dangers

of an exit from the European Union. I think the vote Leave side will

find it difficult not to respond. But I have picked up within the

Remain campaign, whether it is appropriate, because both sides have

agreed the campaign will resume on Sunday morning. One figure I spoke

to said the campaigns shouldn't get going until Parliament has had a

chance, in that emergency recall session on Monday, to pay tribute to

Jo Cox in the House of Commons and then afterwards there is going to be

a service at Saint Margaret's Church in Westminster. The content as well

as the conduct, will it look different for the last week? There

will be a very different tone. Both camps are saying they will be very,

very careful to tone down the aggression, as the UK takes a very

good look at how it does its politics after the murder of Jo Cox.

But there will also be a political change on the Remain side. They are

very nervous after the success of votes Leave in the last couple of

weeks in pushing up the salience of immigration. I understand it when

George Osborne appears on ITV on Sunday morning, even hearing talking

about the abstract figures if we lead the EU, it will be a ?4300 hit

to the average household by 2030, he will talk about the here and there

now. He will say, imagine what a Brexit will mean. If you look at the

small print of the recent monetary policy committee monthly minutes, it

says 35% of businesses asked taking a hit, car sales are down and

sterling is down. But he will be talking on Sunday morning after the

first of three final polls from your gut. They looking at them carefully

because they gave the Scottish referendum a wobble.

Just before we go, you can guess what the papers are saying. They all

have a photograph of Jo Cox on the front. The Times has come out but

Remain and explaining why it is best for Britain, but this newspaper is

for Leave. It said the MP's killer is linked to far right terrorists

and the police are poised to charge the suspect in the killing of Jo

Cox. The Guardian has a picture of the tributes left in Parliament

Square and Jonathan Friedman writes, if you inject enough poison into our

politics, somebody will get sick. The mail is going mental health and

say the police are probing the killer's care. He appeared deeply

disturbed 24 hours before. The FT weekend says parties are united in

grief the Jo Cox as the police investigate right-wing links. And

Philip Green wants to protect pensions while encouraging his staff

to trade a steady retirement income. That is where really be this week

from all of us here, good night. We are far more united and have far

more in common than that which divides us.

After a week of wet weather to the country, things are looking quieter

for the weekend. On Saturday, largely dry day and the best of the

sunshine towards the north and the north-west. In Northern Ireland,

sunny spells, 17 or 18 degrees with light winds. Pleasant day and across

Scotland. Lots