BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Leader of the Opposition, the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas Thursday expressed condolences on the killing of a British Labour Party Member of Parliament, Mrs. Jo Cox. Mrs. Cox, 41, died after she was shot and stabbed in a “horrific” assault in her constituency.
“It is with great sadness that the citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis along with myself join, yet again, the United Kingdom in mourning a tragic loss. Today, Jo Cox, a Member of Parliament described as “the rising star of the Opposition Labour Party” in the UK met a most ghastly demise in a West Yorkshire street in England,” Dr. Douglas said in a statement.
Dr. Douglas, the former Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis noted that in 2016, those most resistant to the concept of world peace are increasing in numbers. “Those who stand for justice, peace, and human rights are in short supply and under constant threat, especially those in the political arena as they are some of the most visible and easily targeted. It is a most painful truth to admit that the fight for world peace and togetherness must become, in fact, a genuine fight,” Dr. Douglas added.
“I extend on behalf of the Federal Parliamentary Opposition, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party as well as myself, heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Cox’s family, the members of the British Labour Party, and all of the United Kingdom as they mourn the loss of one of Britain’s bravest and finest. May our thoughts and prayers be of some comfort during this the most trying of times.”
Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was left bleeding on the ground after the attack in Birstall, West Yorkshire. A man was arrested nearby. One eyewitness told the BBC they heard her attacker shout “put Britain first” at least twice beforehand.
Mrs Cox is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a string of politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups. The man taken into custody was arrested in Market Street, not far from Birstall Library where Mrs Cox was holding a constituency surgery. He has been named locally as Tommy Mair.
Hundreds of Mrs Cox’s friends and colleagues gathered for a vigil at St Peter’s Church in Birstall.