This beautiful British MP, the mother of two young children, was brutally murdered on the streets of West Yorkshire, this afternoon. The prime suspect, a 52 year old male has been detained.

Terry Flynn-Edwards, who runs the Divine hair studio opposite the scene of the attack, said a man from the dry cleaners had tried to stop the assault. She said: “She walked out of the library with her PA and he was waiting for her. He stabbed her first and this guy tried to stop him and then he shot her.”

But one witness, Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, who was in the cafe next door to the library shortly after 1pm, said the MP was involved in an altercation between two arguing men.

He told PA a man in a baseball cap “suddenly pulled a gun from his bag” and after a brief scuffle with another man the MP became involved.

He added: “He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor.”

Clarke Rothwell, another witness, told BBC News there was a direct altercation between Cox and a man carrying a gun, who “purposefully” targeted her.

“He shot this lady and then shot her again,” he said. “He lent down. Someone was wrestling with him and he was wielding a knife and lunging at her. Three times she was shot. People were trying to help her.

“Then he ran off down a one-way street. Me and my mate drove round to try and find him.”

One report says the suspect’s name is Tommy Mair. Other reports say he shouted “Britain First,” believed to be in reference to the far right political party.

The investigation is ongoing and suspicions that the killer was motivated by his support for Britain First may prove accurate, but with a crime so barbaric, aimed as it was at the heart democracy, it is incumbent on us all to examine who else might benefit from brutally killing this young and vibrant advocate for human rights and democracy?

17th February, 2016

The latest controversial idea from the government is to ban local councils, public bodies and even some university student unions from boycotting “unethical” companies. This could mean that they will lose the freedom to refuse to buy goods and services from companies involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products and a whole host of other unsavoury activities. You can read about it here:

The Independent: Israel boycott ban: Shunning Israeli goods to become criminal offence for public bodies and student unions

The Guardian: Councils and NHS trusts to be blocked from boycotting Israeli products

I believe that this is a gross attack on democratic freedoms. Not only is it right to boycott unethical companies but it is our right to do so. It should also be the right of local councils and public bodies that we have elected to make their own decisions, free of government control.

Israelis cannot be excluded in the list of suspects in this heinous crime. It would not be the first time they have brutally assassinated a public servant for opposing their belligerent and illegal occupation in Palestine.

We must not let these heinous crimes, against the few public figures who dare to truly represent the people, go unsolved and unpunished.