LONDON: A far-right extremist was Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release for murdering British MP Jo Cox a week before the European Union referendum in a “politically motivated” attack.
“Because she was a member of Parliament your crime has an additional dimension that calls for particular punishment,” judge Alan Wilkie told Thomas Mair, 53, as he issued the rare “whole life term” punishment.
“There is no doubt it was done to further a political motive.”
The jury at London’s central criminal court convicted Mair of shooting and stabbing the mother-of-two as she arrived at a library in Birstall, northern England, to meet her constituents on June 16.
Mair showed no emotion as the sentence was read out.
The court earlier heard that Mair shouted “Britain first” as he fired three shots at the lawmaker and stabbed her 15 times.
Following the verdict, Cox’s husband Brendan called the murder “a political act and an act of terrorism.”
“We have no interest in the perpetrator, we only feel pity for him,” he added. “Jo was interested in everybody, driven not by her ego but her desire to help.”
Investigators found an extensive collection of books on German military history, the Holocaust and Nazi race theory and a statue of a bust of the eagle of Germany’s Third Reich when they searched Mair’s Birstall home.
Mair had also accessed the Wikipedia page of “far right” online publication Occidental Observer and the Twitter and Wikipedia pages for Cox.
The court heard that Mair had asked the question “Is a .22 round deadly enough to kill with one shot to a human head?” during one Internet search.
The killing of Cox, who had defended immigration and refugee rights, shocked Britain and led to a three-day suspension in campaigning ahead of the EU referendum one week later.
Mair denied Cox’s murder, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense and possession of an offensive weapon, but was found guilty on all counts having refused to present any evidence in his defense.
Cox’s parents and sister were in court.
A 77-year-old local man, Bernard Carter-Kenny, was stabbed as he attempted to stop the attack.
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Murderer of UK lawmaker Jo Cox jailed for life
Murderer of UK lawmaker Jo Cox jailed for life
Chile police arrest suspect over deadly wildfires
- Suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters of fuel from him
LIRQUEN, Chile: Police in south-central Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the recent wildfires that killed 21 people and razed entire neighborhoods, the government said Wednesday.
Security Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters (more than a gallon) of fuel from him.
He was arrested at dawn in the town of Perquenco in Araucania region, south of Biobio.
The fires began simultaneously on Saturday in various parts of Biobio and Nuble regions, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the flames quickly ripped through the coastal towns of Penco, Lirquen and Punta de Parra, leaving a blackened landscape of smoldering ruins.
Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde told a press conference on Wednesday that an estimated 20,000 people suffered property damage from the fires, including some 800 homes that were destroyed.
President Gabriel Boric visited Biobio on Wednesday, where he said: “We’re working with heavy machinery to clear streets and remove debris, and we continue fighting the fire.
“We’re still in a state of emergency,” he added.
Other fires were later reported further inland, in the Biobio town of Florida, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the city of Concepcion and in Araucania.
Cordero said substances used to start fires, including plastic containers containing accelerant, were found in Concepcion.
Firefighters were still battling 35 blazes Wednesday — 22 in Biobio, five in Nuble and eight in Araucania, according to national forestry officials.
A drop in temperature in recent days has helped ease the situation.
“We managed to reduce the intensity of the fire,” Carlos Zulieta, a firefighter in Florida said, adding that it was now advancing “more slowly.”
The government said it would pay compensation of $700 to $1,500 to victims.
Aid began trickling into affected areas on Wednesday.
Municipal workers and private companies were delivering portable toilets and generators to Lirquen, where some families are camped out in the ruins of their homes.
In February 2024, wildfires broke out around the coastal resort of Vina del Mar, 110 kilometers from Santiago, leaving 138 dead.
Investigations revealed that firefighters and forestry brigade members started the fire, which spread rapidly due in part to high temperatures during the southern hemisphere’s summer.
Security Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters (more than a gallon) of fuel from him.
He was arrested at dawn in the town of Perquenco in Araucania region, south of Biobio.
The fires began simultaneously on Saturday in various parts of Biobio and Nuble regions, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the flames quickly ripped through the coastal towns of Penco, Lirquen and Punta de Parra, leaving a blackened landscape of smoldering ruins.
Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde told a press conference on Wednesday that an estimated 20,000 people suffered property damage from the fires, including some 800 homes that were destroyed.
President Gabriel Boric visited Biobio on Wednesday, where he said: “We’re working with heavy machinery to clear streets and remove debris, and we continue fighting the fire.
“We’re still in a state of emergency,” he added.
Other fires were later reported further inland, in the Biobio town of Florida, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the city of Concepcion and in Araucania.
Cordero said substances used to start fires, including plastic containers containing accelerant, were found in Concepcion.
Firefighters were still battling 35 blazes Wednesday — 22 in Biobio, five in Nuble and eight in Araucania, according to national forestry officials.
A drop in temperature in recent days has helped ease the situation.
“We managed to reduce the intensity of the fire,” Carlos Zulieta, a firefighter in Florida said, adding that it was now advancing “more slowly.”
The government said it would pay compensation of $700 to $1,500 to victims.
Aid began trickling into affected areas on Wednesday.
Municipal workers and private companies were delivering portable toilets and generators to Lirquen, where some families are camped out in the ruins of their homes.
In February 2024, wildfires broke out around the coastal resort of Vina del Mar, 110 kilometers from Santiago, leaving 138 dead.
Investigations revealed that firefighters and forestry brigade members started the fire, which spread rapidly due in part to high temperatures during the southern hemisphere’s summer.
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