Receipts show DIY explosives books bought by Jo Cox gunman Tommy Mair including guide to build home-made gun
Murder suspect Tommy Mair was a longstanding supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance
THE MAN suspected of murdering MP Jo Cox reportedly bought a book from a neo-Nazi group detailing how to build your own gun and all about using chemicals and explosives.
Murder suspect Tommy Mair is in police custody after the tragic MP was shot in the head three times and stabbed at least seven times with a foot-long knife.
The mentally ill loner bought a manual from the National Alliance that gave instructions on how to build a gun.
He was a longstanding supporter of the neo-Nazi group.
It’s believed special police units who searched the murder suspect’s house found samples of Nazi regalia and far-right literature.
Officers are now investigating a white supremacist group after they applauded her murder on social media, the Guardian reports.
Cops from Northumbria police have launched an investigation into tweets posted on the account of the north-east chapter of National Action after someone wrote: “only 649 MPs to go.”
Invoices show he sent just over $620 to the NA for goods purchased from National Vanguard Books, the NA’s printing imprint in 1999.
The books explain about the “Chemistry of Powder & Explosives,” “Incendiaries,” and “Improvised Munitions Handbook.”
One chapter even shows readers how to construct a “Pipe Pistol For .38 Caliber Ammunition” from components that can be purchased from nearly any hardware store.
Jo Cox MP, 41, was dragged to the floor by her hair and then gunned down at point-blank range by a man armed with an antique pistol.
Witnesses told how the alleged killer calmly stood over her and reloaded each time before executing Jo with a final bullet to the head.
This afternoon the Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today made an unprecedented joint statement to call for unity close to the spot where the mum of two was slaughtered yesterday.
They said the assailant had used a homemade gun to shoot Ms Cox several times while she lay on the ground.
Mair, who lives in a semi-detached house on the Fieldhead Estate in Birstall, was arrested just hours after the horrifying attack on the Batley and Spen MP.
He had stayed in the same council estate semi in Birstall, West Yorks, for 40 years but had lived alone following the death of his nan 20 years ago and was said to have been on medication and receiving psychotherapy for prolonged periods.
Everything we know about alleged killer Tommy Mair
Cops hunting Jo Cox MP's killer have a 52-year-old man in custody
Tommy Mair, 52, was detained by police near his home in Birstall, near Batley in West Yorkshire.
He is currently being held in police custody while officers search his home.
Mair has been described as a “loner” with mental health issues.
He is said to suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder.
The 52-year-old has long-term links with a hard-right group based in London.
He has been named as a supporter of an organisation which has defended the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa.
He bought bought a book from a neo-Nazi group detailing how to build your own gun and all about using chemicals and explosives.
But his brother said “he wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
Scott Mair said his brother is “not even political”.
There had been reports the gunman shouted Britain first, but the witness has today denied ever saying that
Brother Scott Mair, 50, told The Sun: “We are struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not a violent man and is not that political.
“We don’t even know who he votes for.
“I am visibly shaken at this news. I am so sorry for the MP and her family. I’ve no idea how he got hold of the gun. It’s all been too much for us today.”
Mair has also been named as a supporter in an online publication of the Springbok Club.
The organisation defend the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa.
Yesterday a witness of the fatal attack Dry cleaner Aamir Tahir was quoted saying: “Apparently the guy who did it shouted Britain first’.
“If I had been there I would have tackled him.”
Britain first denied that Mair was associated with the political party and said they “condemn” the killing.
But a sign last night hung in the window of the Dry Clean 2U store close to the murder scene read: “Please note. I did NOT tackle the gunman. NO-ONE shouted Britain first at ANY TIME.”
Instead a 77-year-old hero who heard screaming tried to bundle the attacker to the ground but was stabbed and left bleeding.
However another witness, gas fitter Clarke Rothwell, insists the assailant did shout “Britain first” as he murdered the mum-of-two.
Mair’s half-brother Duane St Louis, 41, told how the suspect was obsessed with personal hygiene.
He said: “He was always cleaning himself. He cleaned himself with Brillo pads.”
Mr Mair is believed to have worked as a volunteer gardener who also helped out at the library where Mrs Cox was killed.
Locals described him as “very quiet, but very helpful”. But both they and Mair’s relatives said he was not politically-minded.
Please note. I did NOT tackle the gunman. NO-ONE shouted Britain first at ANY TIME.
Dry cleaner Aamir Tahir
Barely a day before her death the Labour MP addressed a class of school kids on the EU referendum at Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton, West Yorks, on Wednesday.
Mrs Cox’s beloved husband Brendan released a statement just hours after her tragic death urging people to “fight against the hatred that killed her.”
The day before she died, Mr and Mrs Cox took part in the battle of the Thames with their two children who are aged just three and five years old.
He is said to be “in bits” following the horrific killing.
Mr Cox said yesterday in a statement: “Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
“She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.
“Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.
“Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.”
'There was blood everywhere' Horrific eyewitness accounts of Labour MP Jo Cox’s murder
The mum-of-two was shot and repeatedly stabbed 'with a foot long knife' in broad daylight
Horrifying eyewitness accounts have emerged describing the moment Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered by a loner gunman.
The mum of two was shot and repeatedly stabbed “with a foot long knife” in broad daylight this afternoon as dozens of shocked locals looked on.
Eyewitness, Clarke Rothwell who runs a nearby cafe, told the BBC he believed the MP had been shot and stabbed multiple times.
“Three times she was shot, the initial time which then she dropped to the floor and two more times. The third time he got close proximity he shot her round the head area,” he said.
“In the meantime he was stabbing her as well, he was stabbing her with his knife,” he added.
Mr Rothwell said there was blood everywhere at the scene.
Asked if he thought Ms Cox had intervened in a dispute he said he understood the altercation was “always between the guy carrying the gun and the lady that got shot”.
Aamir Tahir, of The Dry Clean Centre, said the gunman was heard shouting “Britain first”.
He said: “The lady I work with heard two loud bangs but I wasn’t there, I was stuck in traffic at the time. I wish I was there because I would have tried to stop him. The whole street thinks it was me but it wasn’t.
“Apparently the guy who did it shouted ‘Britain first’ and if I had been there I would have tackled him.”
Amanda Barber, 38, from Birstall, said: “I noticed something different straight away – there were a lot of people running about and cars stopped.
There was a lady laying on the floor beside a car outside the library with people all around her.
“At one point a woman shouted ‘oh my god, she’s stopped breathing’.
“She wasn’t moving – she was laid down and unconscious, no movement or anything.
“There was a female officer trying to do CPR on her as I left.”
She added: “I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never personally seen or heard anything like this before.”
A third eyewitness has described how the gunman shot Ms Cox “once” then “again” and “once more”.
“He shot her once, then shot her again…shot her once more,” they told the BBC.
Distraught friends and colleagues of Mrs Cox have been paying tribute to her.
Her father Gordon Leadbeater said: “It’s too early yet, we’re still in shock so not yet.”
The small boating community in Wapping is in mourning for the 41-year-old who was gunned down yesterday afternoon in West Yorkshire while meeting constituents.
She died doing the job she loved, in the place she loved, representing the people she loved.
Rachel Reeves MP
Houseboats burnt their horns out sounding a two minute tribute to MP Jo Cox last night.
Candles were lit along the gangway down to the jetty and hundred of flowers and pictures were placed on the vessel the the mum-of-two shared with her husband, Brendan.
Anne Wainwright chair of the Heritage Moorings said: “We are a very tight community. We’re all pulling together. It’s just so awful.
“Lots of people came to lay flowers last night, tributes have come from all over the world, it was rally amazing.
“We burnt some of our horns out because we sounded them for two minutes straight.
“I spoke to Jo’s husband Brendan last night and we’ve exchanged some messages.
“He’s obviously in bits, I can’t imagine what he’s going through. And her parents as well, it’s so terrible, we’re in such shock.”
Jo was such a lovely person, she was tiny but had so much energy.
Anne Wainwright
She added: “I’m not sure when her family are coming back but when Brendan comes back we’ll talk about any further tributes as a community.
“It has been mentioned that her name might get put on a bench nearby, but we’re not sure yet.
“Jo was such a lovely person, she was tiny but had so much energy.
“She loved her work so much she had to get back to work after being a full time mum.”
Emma Warrillow has been pictured laying flowers at the scene of Mrs Cox’s murder in Birstall.
The young girl wrote a touching tribute to her friend which said: “Thank you Jo for everything you have done for me.
“I hope you’re looking down on me on the 15th of July when I get my Prince Diana award.
“I’ll collect it in your memory.
“Lots of love Emily.”
Tributes left in the book of condolence said: “You have left a world that is changed by your humanity and empathy for the plight of others.
“May your lasting legacy be one that remembers that joyful optimism and tireless work really does change the world. Rest in peace Jo.”
Another tribute read: “From one mother to another may your joy live on through your children.”
One message with a bunch of flowers said: “There is a new star shining brightly in the sky tonight. You were one of life’s good ones. RIP Jo Cox MP.”
Just last year Labour’s rising star achieved her “dream” of representing her hometown in Westminster.
But the talented politician’s life was cut tragically short yesterday.
Prime Minister David Cameron who called Jo Cox a “great star” is travelling to Batley and Spen now to pay his respects.
It has been revealed cops were in the process of boosting security for MP Jo Cox in the months leading up to her murder.
She had reported receiving a series of persistent harassing messages to police.
Speaking of her friend Jo at the scene today, Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves said: “When Jo spoke in the House of Commons everyone would listen.
“She would always speak with such knowledge, passion and commitment.
“She will be hugely missed in parliament but obviously here in Batley as well.
“Jo died doing the job she loved, in the place she loved, representing the people she loved.”
A TV debate on the EU referendum has been cancelled as all campaigning has been suspended for the day in the wake of Jo Cox’s murder.
Prime Minister David Cameron has also recalled Parliament.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368.