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Politicians suspend EU campaign after Jo Cox is killed Politicians suspend EU campaign after Jo Cox is killed
(about 1 hour later)
Politicians on both sides of the hard-fought referendum battle have suspended all campaigning after the fatal attack on the Labour MP Jo Cox. George Osborne has described the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox as an assault on freedom, liberty and justice, as politicians on both sides of the hard-fought referendum battle suspended all campaigning after the fatal attack.
David Cameron cancelled plans to fly to Gibraltar and deliver a speech and the Vote Leave campaigners decided to suspend activities for the day after Boris Johnson had discussions with aides on his battlebus in East Anglia. The chancellor had planned to use his speech to the annual white tie Mansion House dinner to step up his warnings about the risks to the financial markets if Britain leaves the European Union.
A remain campaign spokesman said: “A lot of people on this campaign knew her, and her husband and children, so there’s a pretty sombre atmosphere.” Instead, with all campaigning suspended, he made a brief statement to the assembled financiers, saying: “This country faces a huge question in a week’s time, one that will determine its future for decades to come.
The Bank of England announced that Mark Carney, the bank’s governor, would not deliver a planned speech on the economy at Thursday evening’s Mansion House banquet in the City of London. “The governor will be attending the event and will now deliver a short speech reflecting on today’s events,” the bank’s statement said. “The referendum is a great exercise in democracy. But the campaign has been suspended, on both sides, out of respect for Jo and her family – and for that democracy that she served.”
The chancellor, George Osborne, was also expected to attend the dinner, without making a campaigning speech. He added that Cox had been killed doing the job of representing her constituents. “One of the virtues of our parliamentary democracy is the everyday accessibility of MPs to the people they represent,” he said. “It’s what makes the way we govern ourselves very different from many others. We believe in freedom, liberty and justice ... Today’s horrible events are an assault on all of these values.”
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, also made some brief remarks to the set-piece City event, before the two men departed.
Separately, David Cameron cancelled plans to deliver a pro-EU speech from Gibraltar. Vote Leave campaigners decided to suspend activities after Boris Johnson had discussions with aides on his battlebus in East Anglia.
Related: Jo Cox: Labour's rising star whose life was cut shortRelated: Jo Cox: Labour's rising star whose life was cut short
The BBC announced that it would clear its schedule of referendum-related programming, including Question Time and This Week, both of which were expected to feature MPs involved in the campaign. A remain campaign spokesman said: “A lot of people on this campaign knew her, and her husband and children, so there’s a pretty sombre atmosphere.”
The BBC announced that it would clear its schedule of referendum-related programming, including Question Time and This Week, on Thursday night, both of which were expected to feature MPs involved in the campaigns.
The Washington-based International Monetary Fund delayed the publication of a report that was expected to spell out the risks to the UK economy of leaving the EU — and which Osborne had been expected to refer to in his speech.
Enda Kenny, the taoiseach, who was expected to make a speech on the EU on Thursday evening, also cancelled his plans.Enda Kenny, the taoiseach, who was expected to make a speech on the EU on Thursday evening, also cancelled his plans.
It was unclear when referendum campaigning would resume. Ukip said it would be cancelling a planned event for Friday morning, at which Nigel Farage was expected to unveil a new campaign poster. The tone of the referendum campaign had become increasingly bitter and ferocious in recent days, with Conservative backbenchers lining up to criticise the chancellor, and the party’s grandees – including former leader Michael Howard – the motives of Carney for getting involved in the debate.
Cox had been involved in the Stronger In campaign. She tweeted proudly on Wednesday that her husband and children had joined remain campaigners who had sailed in dinghies along the Thames, in London, in protest over Farage’s flotilla of fisherman promoting a leave vote. With the result looking too close to call, according to the latest polls, many of the senior figures on both sides believe they are engaged in the fight of their political lives and have been pulling out all the stops.
Boris Johnson and his colleagues in the Vote Leave team had been heading to a truck business in East Anglia when he heard the news and returned to London. Announcing the decision to reporters, he said his thoughts were with Cox and her family. “Whoever has done this, I hope they are brought to justice as soon as possible,” he said. With just days to go, the rest of the campaign had been planned down to the last hour by both sides, each with their own media “grid”, laying out the set-piece political events of the day, and the issues they hoped to focus on.
Penny Mordaunt, a defence minister who was also on the campaign trail, said she knew Cox well because of her work for refugees and said there would be “immense concern on all sides of the house”. But hostilities will now be suspended until the weekend at the earliest. Both sides have scrambled to cancel planned events for Friday, which was expected to be another day of robust exchanges.
Ukip said it would scrap a poster launch with Nigel Farage; Economists for Brexit cancelled their press conference and many Labour MPs said they were too shocked and grief-stricken to focus on the issue of the EU. MPs from both sides of the argument, and of the House of Commons, lined up to express their shock at the attack.
The tone of Osborne’s remarks at the Mansion House made clear that the referendum is set to go ahead as planned next Thursday, however.
Cox had been involved in the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign. She tweeted proudly on Wednesday that her husband and children had joined remain campaigners who had sailed in dinghies along the Thames, in London, in protest over Farage’s flotilla of fisherman promoting a leave vote.
Boris Johnson and his colleagues in the Vote Leave team had been heading to a truck business in East Anglia when he heard the news and returned to London. Announcing the decision to reporters, he said his thoughts were with Cox and her family, adding: “Whoever has done this, I hope they are brought to justice as soon as possible.”