DEATH TO TRAITORS
Jo Cox’s killer shocks court as he declares his name to be...
thorne then read out the full charges against Mair before giving the first full account of his alleged crimes, including their allegedly political motivation.
He revealed that married mother- of-two Mrs Cox had spent Thursday morning visiting a school and a care home in her West Yorkshire constituency before travelling to a planned surgery for local residents in Birstall library.
At about 12.45pm, the MP was spotted as she got out of her car by 77-year-old Mr Kenny, who was waiting for his wife while she visited the library.
‘Almost immediately he saw she was approached by an unknown male who began to attack her with a knife,’ the court was told.
Mr Kenny instinctively rushed to help but the knifeman stabbed him in the abdomen, forcing him to ‘retreat’ to a nearby sandwich shop. He remains in hospital.
The assailant was then seen to stab Mrs Cox ‘repeatedly’ and when she fell to the ground he was said to have taken a firearm from a black holdall and shot her three times. He then continued to stab her as she lay fighting for her life, the court heard.
Mr Cawthorne said: ‘Whilst doing that the defendant was heard to say words to the effect of “Britain first, keep Britain independent, Britain always comes first, this is for Britain”.’ Mair was said to have left the scene ‘calmly’ while Mrs Cox was rushed to hospital. She she was pronounced dead at 1.48pm.
Two policemen spotted Mair walking through Birstall carrying a black holdall and wearing a black baseball cap. They ordered him to drop the bag, and he stood in the road with his hands out and said: ‘It’s me.’
The officers rugby-tackled him to the floor to handcuff him, and while they were searching him he allegedly stated: ‘I’m a political activist.’
In his trouser pockets, it is alleged, they found a plastic bag full of .22mm bullets, while in the black bag they found a single-barrelled modified rifle with the safety cap off, one round in the chamber and two in the magazine.
There was also a blood-stained mobile phone, a black baseball cap with the logo ‘Cuvana rum flavoured beer’, a blood-stained ‘dagger knife’ and a black wallet containing Mair’s photo ID, the court was told.
After Mair was arrested and armed police secured the area, his Birstall home was searched.
The court was told that Mair had applied for legal aid and will appear before the Old Bailey tomorrow for a bail application, and that a later hearing in his case could be heard along with terrorism cases. In the meantime he is being held at Belmarsh topsecurity jail in London.
With hands out he told police: ‘It’s me’