House of Commons to pay tribute to Jo Cox in special session

The House of Commons will pay tribute to Labour MP Jo Cox in a special session on Monday after parliament was recalled following her murder on Thursday.

Politicians from different parties could sit together rather than taking their seats as usual along party lines.

Leader of the House Chris Grayling expressed support for the idea, which had been suggested by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“It’s a memorial occasion. When we all gather tomorrow to pay our respects, conventional party politics should be miles away.

“People often don’t recognise there are genuinely good relationships across parties. Members of parliament across the entire chamber feel a genuine sense of deep grief about what’s happened,” Mr Grayling said. Thomas Mair (52) who was charged on Saturday with Ms Cox’s murder, gave his name to the court as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain”.

Mair, who is from Birstall in West Yorkshire, where the 41-year-old mother of two was shot and stabbed outside her advice clinic, remained silent when asked his address and date of birth.

Harm to pensioner

He was also charged with grievous bodily harm against a pensioner who tried to help Ms Cox as she was being attacked, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of a knife.

Deputy chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot remanded Mair in custody until he appears at the Old Bailey on Monday for a bail application, and she suggested that a psychiatric report should be prepared.

Friends of Ms Cox have announced plans for a public event in London’s Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, the day that would have been her 42nd birthday.

They said the event, called More in Common: Celebrating the life of Jo Cox, would celebrate her "warmth, love, energy, passion, flair, Yorkshire heritage and the belief in the humanity of every person in every place".

Church services were held in Birstall on Sunday to remember the MP, whom the local vicar Paul Knight, described as a fervent advocate for the poor and the oppressed.

“Her humanity was powerful and compelling and we would do well to recognise her as an amazing example, a 21st century Good Samaritan,” he said.

Three-day moratorium

As the EU referendum campaign resumed after a three-day moratorium following the murder, politicians on both sides paid tribute to Ms Cox.

Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said he hoped her death would inspire a less divisive political debate based more on “reasoned argument and facts”.

Justice secretary Michael Gove, who is campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, described the Labour MP as an “amazing and wonderful” person.

As Ms Cox’s husband, Brendan, took their two young children on a camping trip to remember their mother, a fund set up in her honour had already attracted more than £600,000 in donations from the public.

The money will go between The Royal Voluntary Service and The White Helmets, which supports volunteer workers in Syria.