Man who allegedly shot and stabbed MP Jo Cox to death appears at Old Bailey
Thomas Mair will stand trial in the autumn after appearing at crown court this morning
THE man accused of the terror-related murder of MP Jo Cox will go on trial in November.
Thomas Mair is accused of stabbing and shooting the 41-year-old Labour MP outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, a week ago today.
She died from her injuries and the 52-year-old man was arrested before being charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.
The gardener, from Birstall, near Leeds, appeared at the Old Bailey in London this morning via video link from high security Belmarsh Prison.
He is alleged to have knifed the MP for Batley and Spen as the mother-of-two got out of a car, before shooting her.
His case was among a list of terror-related cases to be heard by Mr Justice Saunders.
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Another hearing will take place on September 19, with a plea hearing for October 4, but a trial date has been fixed for November 14.
His case is being handled under the "terrorism protocol".
Dressed in a white long-sleeved t-shirt and with a grey beard, Mair spoke only to confirm his name.
At a magistrates' hearing last week he gave his name as "death to traitors, freedom for Britain".
Throughout, he sat with his head bowed, taking notes, and made no reaction as his lawyer Cairns Nelson QC discussed his case.
The hearing today coincides with referendum day and is a day after Mrs Cox's family marked what would have been her 42nd birthday on Wednesday.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Mrs Cox was "a voice of compassion whose irrepressible spirit and boundless energy lit up the lives of all who knew her".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that British society had lost "one of our very best".
A fundraising page set up following her death has raised more than £1m for causes close to the MP's heart.
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