Sister still struggling with death of MP Jo Cox
THE SISTER of murdered MP Jo Cox has said she has not yet fully come to terms with her death or had time to grieve – and revealed she does not give her killer a second thought.
Kim Leadbeater described the 12 months since her older sister was killed as a “constant rollercoaster” that has not allowed her time to sit back and process her emotions
While she has occasionally found herself sobbing in the middle of the night, Ms Leadbeater said she and her family had been buoyed by an outpouring of support from across the country and around the world.
She said: “That doesn’t mean we don’t have days where it really can be a struggle to keep going, but so far we’re managing.
“One thing that drives you is thinking what Jo would want you to do, and Jo wouldn’t want this to take any more from us than it already has done. I keep trying to remember that.”
Mrs Cox was shot and stabbed on June 16 last year as she arrived for a constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, just 13 months after being elected as Labour MP for Batley and Spen constituency.
Right-wing extremist and loner Thomas Mair was given a whole life term after being convicted of her murder at the Old Bailey in November.
To mark the anniversary of her murder, thousands of people will take part in an event called The Great Get Together this weekend, coming together to enjoy small picnics and community events across the UK.
Miss Leadbeater said: “I don’t think I’ve grieved at all yet, if I’m honest. Since Jo was murdered,
there has been no time because of the public nature of how it happened, because of Jo’s position that she was in – it’s been a constant rollercoaster.
“I know all the facts, I know what happened, I sat through the trial – I’ve got all that information, but have I actually processed that and understood what that means for the rest of my life?
“No, I don’t think I have, and I think that’s going to take a long time, an awfully long time.”
When The Great Get Together event – which has been planned as a celebration of the MP’s ardent belief that people have more things in common than the issues that divide them – is over, Miss Leadbeater has promised to allow herself the time to begin processing what has happened to her family.
She said: “There’s a lot of stuff that I still haven’t dealt with, and I guess that’s where maybe counselling or some advice on how to cope with that would come in.
“We have been so busy focusing on creating a legacy for Jo, which is exactly what we want to do, but that has to slow down at some point.
“I’ve had moments. I’ve broken down in tears at the traffic lights and I remember sitting on the steps at home at 4 o’clock in the morning just uncontrollably crying.”
Miss Leadbeater also remarked that her sister’s murder had drawn the rest of the family closer together.