Jo Cox: Death Of An MP

On 16 June 2016 the murder of Jo Cox - in the heat of EU referendum campaigning - shocked the nation. Jo Cox: Death Of An MP tells the story of this horrific attack and events surrounding it through the testimony of those closest to it, including Jo Cox's family, eye witnesses and those who knew the murderer, Thomas Mair.

With unique access to West Yorkshire Police’s murder investigation we draw together for the first time all the CCTV, archive footage and other evidence that was gathered by the investigating officers.

The result is a forensic exploration of a ‘terrorist’ murder, in which we ask what led a man with no history of violence to brutally murder a female MP whom he had never met?

Jo Cox's political convictions and the issues she fought so passionately for were at odds with Mair’s viewpoint, which some think motivated him to murder. Who Jo Cox was and what she stood for is explored in the film through archive footage and intimate interviews with family and friends.

Thomas Mair's activities in the days leading up to the attack are retraced through interviews with detectives working the case. Along with the testimony of those who knew Mair, they portray a complex and contradictory character, a man who volunteers to help people of all races yet harbours a secret obsession with Nazism and the extreme right-wing.

Set against the backdrop of the EU referendum as the political temperature rises across the country, Jo Cox: Death Of An MP is a detailed account of that tragic day and sheds a unique light on the mystery of why Thomas Mair abandoned his quiet life to commit an act of terrorism.

This is part of series of programmes marking Brexit - One Year On.

Publicity contact: EB2