Unemployed gardener, 53, given whole-life sentence for murder of MP that judge said was inspired by white supremacism

An extreme rightwing terrorist has been sentenced to prison for the rest of his life for the murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox after a seven-day Old Bailey trial in which he made no effort to defend himself. Jo’s death was an act of terrorism, her widower tells court

Mair, of Lowood Lane, Birstall, shot and stabbed mother-of-two Mrs Cox as she arrived at the library in West Yorkshire for a surgery on June 16, a week before the EU referendum. At his first court hearing, Mair gave his name as “death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” Prosecutors said his home was full of Nazi literature and memorabilia, and his computer revealed an interest in far right, anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi politics. Wilkie said the murder had been carried out to advance a political cause “of violent white supremacism associated with Nazism.”

He said Mair pretended to be a patriot — but that Jo Cox was the true patriot. Mr Justice Wilkie refused a request from Mair for an opportunity to address the

 court, saying he had already plenty of chances to explain himself, and

 had not done so. He, on the other hand “affected patriotism” and admired the Nazis. Mair’s neighbours said he had lived in a unremarkable semi-detached house in Birstall, West Yorkshire, for 20 years, that he was a loner who spent much of his time in his garden and would occasionally mow their lawns for them. My friend Jo Cox was assassinated, but her legacy will be to unite communities | Stephen Kinnock Read more

Mair was also found guilty of grievous bodily harm against a passerby, Bernard Carter-Kenny, a retired coal miner who was stabbed when he came to Cox’s aid, possession of a firearm with intent and possession of a dagger. “We feel nothing but pity for him; that his life was so devoid of love that his only way of finding meaning was to attack a defenceless woman who represented the best of our country in an act of supreme cowardice.”

Speaking outside the Old Bailey after the verdicts, he added: “To the world, Jo was a member of parliament, a campaigner, an activist and many other things. He said the killing was an incompetent political act born out of hate that had instead caused a huge outpouring of love towards Jo and her family.
White supremacist Thomas Mair is found guilty of the murder of British Member of Parliament Jo Cox and is sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.