LONDON (AP) The accused killer of British lawmaker Jo Cox has given his name as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain” in his first court appearance.
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As well as murder, Mair has been charged with grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense and possession of an offensive weapon.
Prime Minister David Cameron appealed for intolerance and hatred to be driven out of politics, as a USA civil rights group said the man suspected of the gun and knife attack had links to an American white supremacist organization.
As an MP, Cox did not let party rivalry obstruct her efforts.
US President Barack Obama on Friday phoned Cox’s husband Brendan to offer his condolences.
“Yes, this was Jo Cox MP, and she was so many things to many people in her too short life”.
“Parliament needs to look very carefully at how it protects its MPs in their constituencies in a world that has changed”, said Charlotte Leslie, a lawmaker in the ruling Conservative Party who had hate messages spray-painted on her auto previous year.
“We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect (to) the suspect’s link to mental health services and this is a clear line of inquiry which we are pursuing”, police said. Among the publications were “Chemistry of Powder and Explosives” and “Improvised Munitions Handbook”.
The address on the receipts corresponded to Mair’s address in a state housing project on the edge of Birstall, where two officers kept guard Friday as detectives interviewed neighbors.
Few said they could believe the man they described as a reclusive gardener was capable of attacking anyone.
The suspect’s brother, Scott Mair, has told reporters that his brother had a history of mental illness, but was not violent.
“We’ve paused, and I pray we’ve paused so we might start again in a more reasoned way so people might come to a decision about what they feel logically and in their hearts”, he said. “Of all the people in Birstall that I know, he would’ve been at the bottom of the list”.
Mair also subscribed to a pro-apartheid group’s magazine in the 1980s.
One witness near the crime scene Thursday, said the gunman shouted “Put Britain first” several times before and after the shooting, the Press Association reported.
The center, an Alabama-based group that monitors hate groups, said it had obtained documents showing that Mair bought books and magazines from the National Alliance on three occasions in 1999 and 2003. Cox supported staying in the 28-nation political bloc.
The referendum has sparked an intense debate about immigration and Britain’s place in the world.
Both sides have put their national European Union campaigns on hold until at least Sunday.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who joined Cameron in Birstall, 202 miles (325 kilometers) north of London, blamed Cox’s death on “the well of hatred”.
MPs are getting behind a plan to break with the usual political divisions in the House of Commons and sit together when Parliament reconvenes to pay tribute to murdered Labour MP Jo Cox.
As police combed the sidewalks around the attack site Friday, some mothers walking their children to a nearby school wiped away tears.
Cox was attacked with a knife and a firearm on Thursday outside her constituency surgery in the village of Birstall, northern England.
“I woke up this morning and just wanted to find it hadn’t happened”.
She continued: “Over the last 48 hours, people have not been silent”.
Violence against British politicians has been rare since Northern Ireland’s peace deal two decades ago.
Tory MP Jason McCartney, who represents Colne Valley, not far from Mrs Cox’s constituency of Batley and Spen, has written to the Speaker asking for the traditional seating arrangements to be set aside.
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Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said a reminder of safety guidance has been sent to members of Parliament, suggesting they go to local police if they have concerns. “We had nothing to do with it”, he said.
