‘Leave’ leading opinion polls
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A British lawmaker was shot and killed yesterday in a daylight attack in the town she represented, police said.
Labour legislator Jo Cox was attacked just before 1pm in Birstall, northern England, Acting Chief Constable Dee Collins of West Yorkshire Police said. She was pronounced dead by a doctor less than an hour later.
A 77-year-old man was injured.
A 52-year-old man has been arrested and Collins said police believe it is a “lone incident” and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said “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.”
Both the Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe campaigns suspended activity ahead of next week’s vote over whether Britain should remain a part of the 28-member bloc at the news.
Violence against politicians is rare in Britain, as are gun attacks, and figures from all parts of the political spectrum expressed deep shock.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: “The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP (Member of Parliament). My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children.”
The rival sides in the referendum have been canvassing feverishly ahead of what is expected to be a close vote and Cox had been campaigning for the “remain” camp.
Britain’s Press Association news agency quoted eyewitness Hithem Ben Abdallah as saying Cox got involved in a scuffle between two men in Birstall, 320 kilometers north of London.
Abdallah said one of the men was fighting with Cox and then a gun went off twice and “she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor.”
Clarke Rothwell, who runs a nearby cafe, told the BBC he believed Cox had been shot and stabbed multiple times.
“Three times she was shot, the initial time which then she dropped to the floor and two more times,” he said. “The third time he got close proximity he shot her around the head area.”
“In the meantime he was stabbing her as well. He was stabbing her with his knife.”
Shopkeeper Sanjeev Kumar told the BBC said he saw a woman lying on the ground “bleeding from the mouth and nose,” with two women trying to help her.
After around 15 minutes, witnesses said emergency services arrived and tended to her with a drip.
Cox, a former worker for charities who is married with two young children, was elected to the House of Commons in the May 2015 general election.
The attack came with campaigning in full swing before a crunch referendum on June 23 on whether Britain stays in the EU or becomes the first country to leave.
An Ipsos Mori survey published yesterday showed 53 percent of voters backing a Brexit compared to 47 percent who wanted to stay in the European Union. Another poll by Survation put “Leave” ahead by 52-48.
Polling expert John Curtice said the race was now too close to call. “Until this morning I would have said to you that on the balance of probabilities, ‘Remain’ were the favorites. I think we no longer have a favorite in this referendum,” he told BBC television.
In the minutes of its June meeting, the Bank of England again warned that the outcome of the referendum was “the largest immediate risk facing UK financial markets, and possibly also global financial markets.” London’s FTSE 100 share index was down 1 percent, while the pound reached a two-month low against the euro.
“City watchers are beginning to take the threat seriously and start to price in the possibility of a Brexit,” said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital.
The Financial Times endorsed the “Remain” camp, saying Britain had benefited from its 43-year membership and leaving would “seriously damage” the economy.
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