The husband of slain British parliamentarian Jo Cox said she was killed because of her political views amid heated rhetoric surrounding this week’s referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union — the so-called Brexit vote.
Cox, who would have turned 42 years old Wednesday, was shot and stabbed on a street in Birstall, West Yorkshire, last Thursday. The rookie Labour Party MP had been campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU.
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“She was a politician and she had very strong political views and I believe was she killed because of those views,” her husband Brendan Cox told the BBC, in his first interview since his wife was killed.
“I think she died because of them and she would want to stand up for those in death as much as she did in life.”
“I don’t want people ascribing views to her that she didn’t have but I certainly want to continue to fight for the legacy and for the politics and the views she espoused.”
Cox, a rookie Labour MP who was elected in the May 2015 election, was also an active campaigner for human rights, immigration, accepting refugees, and seeking a resolution for the Syrian civil war.
READ MORE: Who is Jo Cox? British MP killed on West Yorkshire street
Before her death, Brendan Cox said his wife was worried by the “tone” of the debate surrounding the Brexit vote, both from the left and the right, that had the potential of “whipping up fears and whipping up hatred.”
“She completely respected that people could disagree for very good reason,” he told the BBC.
“I think the EU referendum has created a more heightened environment for it but actually it also pre-existed that. It’s something that’s happened over the last few years I think and again not just in the U.K. but globally.”
Police have charged 52-year-old Thomas Mair with murder after apprehending him at the scene of Cox’s killing. Mair’s ties to right-wing extremism are under investigation and during a court appearance Saturday identified himself only as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” He refused to give his actual name.
Earlier reports, immediately following Cox’s murder, quoted witnesses saying they heard the suspected killer shouting the words “Britain first” or “Put Britain first” as the attack unfolded. Britain First is the name of a right-wing, nationalist group that is opposed to immigration, accepting refugees and is pushing for Britain to exit the European Union. The group has attempted to dismiss those claims on its website.
The Guardian reported Friday a police search of Mair’s home uncovered “samples of Nazi regalia and far-right literature,” while the U.S.-based Southern Poverty Law Centre said Mair purchased a manual from the group in 1999 that included instructions on how to build a pistol.
READ MORE: Migration control key reason to leave the EU: Brexit advocate
Her husband told the BBC the show of public support for the family is helping her two children see “their mother was someone who was loved by lots of people and that therefore, it’s ok to be upset and it’s okay for them to cry and to be sad about it.”
“She cherished every moment… I remember so much about her but most of all I will remember that she met the world with love and both love for her children, love in her family and also love for people she didn’t know.”
Brendan Cox said he’s not considering a run for his wife’s constituency and is focused on raising their children. He did, however, say he hopes a woman runs for his wife’s seat in parliament and becomes the Labour Party’s 100th female MP, the BBC reported.
“Jo was a passionate feminist, somebody who actively campaigned to get more women into parliament,” he said. “I think she would have been very annoyed with me if I decided that, when an angry man kills a young, female MP, that she would be replaced by another man.”
With files from The Associated Press