Jo Cox family back her husband as he admits: I was a sex pest
THE family of murdered MP Jo Cox yesterday said they would continue to support her husband after he admitted “inappropriate” behaviour following sexual assault claims.
Mrs Cox’s sister Kim Leadbeater said Brendan Cox “did the right thing” in admitting past “mistakes” while at Save the Children in 2015.
Mr Cox, who has resigned from two charities set up in his wife’s memory, says he was playful and “flirtatious” rather than predatory.
He denied preying on two women while married to the late politician, but said: “I made mistakes and behaved in a way that caused some women hurt and offence.”
He added: “I am committed to holding myself to much higher standards of personal conduct in the future.” He quit posts at More In Common and the Jo Cox Foundation but said allegations he forced himself on a woman during a 2015 US trip to Harvard University were a “massive exaggeration”.
Ms Leadbeater said: “It is another very difficult day for our family. The last 20 months have been a constant roller-coaster of emotions which we are still dealing with on a daily basis.
“My priority is and always will be looking after Jo and Brendan’s children and supporting my parents, who have already been through so much.
“As a family we will support Brendan as he endeavours to do the right thing by admitting mistakes he may have made in the past, and we respect him for doing so. We all make mistakes.
“Brendan is a wonderful father and I have no doubt about the happiness he brought to Jo.”
Labour MP Mrs Cox was shot and stabbed by a far-Right terrorist during the EU vote campaign in 2016.
A newspaper claimed Brendan Cox drunkenly harassed an employee at Save the Children in London, allegedly holding her by the throat and making a lurid comment. He left his charity role shortly afterwards. He said: “I want to apologise deeply and unreservedly for my past behaviour and for the hurt and offence I have caused. While I do not accept the allegations contained in the 2015 complaint to the police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I do acknowledge and understand that during my time at Save the Children I made mistakes.”
He added: “This was never malicious but it was certainly inappropriate.” He refused to say what his wife knew of the claims, but said: “We never pretended we had the perfect relationship, or the perfect marriage. We had difficult times, we had amazing times, but I’m not going to recount conversations I had with her.”
He conceded there were “instances” where he made people feel uncomfortable at Save the Children, adding: “I think that charge is a fair one. I probably behaved in a way I thought was sort of jokey, or flirtatious. I often wasn’t being serious but that was perceived differently by others.”