"I have no idea what to say, poor, poor Jo.... Such a waste xxxx." Thus tweeted Heidi Allen MP yesterday.
"Absolutely terrible news about Jo Cox. Thinking about her and her family," tweeted Lucy Frazer MP.
Peter Mann writes
When I heard the awful news Jo Cox MP had been killed, I immediately thought of Heidi Allen, our own MP and Lucy Frazer, the MP for South East Cambridgeshire, both of whom I had the privilege of photographing during the 2015 general election campaign and this year’s Police and Crime Commissioner campaign.
This morning, wondering – as the volunteer webmaster for this website – whether to put something appropriate up on this site, I looked to the Tory HQ site for some text: nothing. The same goes for several other Conservative websites I checked, including those in Yorkshire where Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, lived.
If you feel it was wrong of me to put this ‘news’ item up, my apologies. The fact remains a British MP has been killed in terrifying circumstances, made all the more poignant for us in South Cambridgeshire as she was a woman, the same age as Heidi and entered Parliament in May 2015, just like Heidi – and Lucy.
This link will take you to the Wikipedia page about Jo.
David Cameron tweeted: "The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children."
Statement from Jeremy Corbyn on the tragic death of Jo Cox MP:
“The whole of the Labour Party and Labour family – and indeed the whole country – will be in shock at the horrific murder of Jo Cox today.
Jo Cox had a lifelong record of public service and a deep commitment to humanity. She worked both for Oxfam and the anti-slavery charity, the Freedom Fund, before she was elected last year as MP for Batley and Spen – where she was born and grew up.
Jo was dedicated to getting us to live up to our promises to support the developing world and strengthen human rights – and she brought those values and principles with her when she became an MP.
Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve. It is a profoundly important cause for us all.
Jo was universally liked at Westminster, not just by her Labour colleagues, but across Parliament.
In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jo’s husband Brendan and their two young children. They will grow up without their mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved and what she stood for.
We send them our deepest condolences. We have lost a much loved colleague, a real talent and a dedicated campaigner for social justice and peace. But they have lost a wife and a mother, and our hearts go out to them.”
There's a thought provoking piece on the Conservative Home website...
...and a compassionate piece by the Tax Payers' Alliance.
Jo Cox, 1974-2016, wife, mother and MP: RIP.