Neo-Nazi Thomas Mair, who gunned down Jo Cox while shouting "Britain first", has been jailed for the rest of his life for a murder the Labour MP's husband has described as an act of terrorism.

An Old Bailey jury took just over 90 minutes to convict the 53-year-old loner of murdering the 41-year-old mother-of-two and Remain campaigner as she arrived for a constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, a week before the EU referendum.

The white supremacist, who gave no evidence in his defence, shouted "Britain first" as he fired three shots at his MP and stabbed her 15 times.

He gave no reaction and looked straight ahead as he was convicted on all counts and then given a whole life term.

After the conviction, Mrs Cox's widower, Brendan, told the court: "We are not here to plead for retribution.

"We feel nothing but pity for him that his life was so devoid of love and filled with hatred, his only way of finding meaning was to attack a woman who represented all that was good about the country in an act of supreme cowardice."

Her murder was a political act, and an act of terrorism, driven by hatred that has instead led to an "outpouring of love", he said.

The MP's family sat in silence in the packed courtroom as the verdicts were delivered.

The trial judge refused Mair's request to make a statement in court

Mr Justice Wilkie told Mair that Mrs Cox was the "true patriot" and not him.

Mair's murderous attack on the MP was "brutal and ruthless", the judge said.

Passer-by Bernard Kenny, 78, who was stabbed as he tried to halt the onslaught by jumping on Mair's shoulders from behind, described Mair's actions as a "pure act of evil".

He said in a statement that he would do the same thing again as it was "the right thing to do", even though his actions were not enough to save Mrs Cox.

As she lay mortally wounded in the street, the MP for Batley and Spen tried to protect her aides by urging them to leave her and save themselves.

During the trial Mrs Cox's family were left in tears as her constituency caseworker Sandra Major described the MP's selfless response as she came under attack from Mair.

She told jurors: "He was making motions towards us with the knife and Jo was lying in the road and she shouted out 'get away, get away you two.

Let him hurt me. Don't let him hurt you'."

Her account prompted Mr Cox to tweet, "this is who Jo was".

Her colleague Fazila Aswat hit Mair with her handbag and pleaded with Mrs Cox to think of her two young children and get up and run.

Despite being too hurt to move away, Mrs Cox's thwarted Mair's initial attack as she shielded her head with her hands.

Mair briefly walked away to reload the adapted sawn-off .22 rifle before returning to shoot and stab her again.

Mr Kenny, who by coincidence shared his birthday with Mrs Cox, staggered back and "flopped" down on the steps of a sandwich shop.

The attack was captured on grainy CCTV and witnessed by 16 members of the public who travelled to the Old Bailey to give evidence.

They described the popping noise of Mair's gun and how he threatened to stab people if they got in his way.

Afterwards, Mair walked away as if he had "not a care in the world", the court heard.

Despite discarding some clothes, Mair was swiftly tracked down a mile away, still carrying his holdall containing the blood-splattered murder weapons.

They included a reproduction of a Fairbairn-Sykes "fighting dagger", a design first made in 1941 for British special forces and commando units, with a 17.4cm blade.

Two police constables rugby tackled Mair to the ground and in the scuffle, he cut his head.

Following his arrest, police uncovered a hoard of neo-Nazi literature at his council house in nearby Lowood Lane.

In pride of place on a bookshelf was a golden Third Reich eagle ornament with a swastika emblazoned on the front.

Mair, who had a teaching qualification and a Kirklees college student card, was a frequent visitor to Birstall and Batley libraries.

An investigation of his use of library computers exposed Mair's interest in far right, anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi politics in Britain and abroad.

Two days after the killing, Mair was brought before Westminster magistrates under the terrorism protocol.

When asked to confirm his name, the defendant, described by neighbours as a shy loner, said: "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain".

He has refused to answer to the charges against him and not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf to murder, grievous bodily harm to Mr Kenny and possession of the gun and dagger.

Having opted not to give evidence in the trial or put forward any positive defence, he was found guilty on all the charges.

Mrs Cox's family hugged and shook hands with prosecutor Richard Whittam QC and appeared tearful as they left court.

Mr Cox told the court: "The killing of Jo was in my view a political act, an act of terrorism."

But he said it had been a "most incompetent and self-defeating" act, as it had led to communities pulling together and "allowed millions to hear a voice instead of silencing a voice".

Mr Justice Wilkie said Mrs Cox's death had been "both a personal tragedy" and a crime with "great public significance".

He said her "generosity of spirit (was) evident in the selfless concern she had for others, even when facing a violent death".

The judge told Mair that the loss he had caused her friends and family would be "unbearable", and that she had demonstrated herself to be "a credit to herself, her community, and her country" through her work.

Mr Justice Wilkie said: "In the true meaning of the word she was a patriot.

"You affect to be a patriot. The words you uttered repeatedly when you killed her give lip service to that concept.

"Those sentiments can be legitimate and can have resonance but in your mouth, allied to your actions, they are tainted and made toxic."

The judge told Mair his inspiration was not from "love of country or your fellow citizens", but was "an admiration of Nazism" and similar white supremacist ideas where "democracy and political persuasion are supplanted by violence".

He added: "Our parents' generation made huge sacrifices to defeat those ideas and values in the Second World War. What you did, and your admiration for those views which informed your crime, betrays the sacrifices of that generation.

"You are no patriot. By your actions you have betrayed the quintessence of our country, its adherence to parliamentary democracy."

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As Thomas Mair shot and stabbed Jo Cox in the street, brave witnesses tried to fend off his attack.

Have-a-go-hero Bernard Kenny was stabbed as he tried to stop Mair from murdering the MP, while Mrs Cox's personal assistant, Fazila Aswat, used her handbag to hit him.

Others were threatened with violence as they attempted to intervene.

Calls have been made for pensioner Mr Kenny to be honoured after his courageous bid to save Mrs Cox.

In a statement taken by police as the 78-year-old recovered from his single stab wound in hospital, Mr Kenny said he was waiting for his wife outside the library when he saw Mair going "berserk".

He said: "I ran across. I was intending to jump on his shoulders. He had his back to me. I thought if I could jump on to the back I could take him down.

"I thought he was thumping her until I saw the blood. I saw he had a knife in his hands. It was what I call a dagger. The blade was about nine inches.

"Just as I got short of him, he turned around and saw me. He shoved the knife in and it hit me in the stomach. The blood started pouring out between my fingers. I saw the blood and I thought 'Oh my God'."

After the attack, more than 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Mr Kenny to be awarded the George Cross for his bravery.

A letter posted on the petition site said: "We the undersigned wish that Bernard Kenny's act of supreme bravery should be recognised by the highest honour the UK Government can bestow. At this time when the country is dominated by fear and hate, we think that a man motivated only by selfless courage and love should be honoured in this way, and quickly."

It continued: "Please would you act straight away to award Bernard Kenny the George Cross for his incredible bravery in trying to save the life of Jo Cox MP and show our country that love wins over hate."

Mr Kenny, a former member of the Gomersal Mines Rescue team who tried to save victims of the Lofthouse mine disaster in 1973, was praised by friends and Mrs Cox's family following her death.

He was also made the guest of honour at a rugby match between Batley Bulldogs and Dewsbury Rams, where he laid a sunflower on the pitch in memory of Mrs Cox.

Ms Aswat, who arrived at Birstall library with Mrs Cox and senior caseworker Sandra Major, told the court she tried to persuade the MP to run away between attacks.

She said: "When he first came back, I was standing over Jo saying to her 'Just think of (your children), you need to get up and run'.

"When he came back, I started swinging my handbag. He swung his knife towards me a couple of times, not to attack but because he wanted to get me away from her so he could attack her again."

Ms Major told the trial that Ms Aswat shouted at Mair after he shot Mrs Cox, who tried to make the two women leave her so they did not get hurt.

She said: "Fazila shouted 'Get away from us, she has two little kids'. I was just screaming for help. I thought if some people came, he might go away.

"He was making motions towards us with the knife and Jo was lying in the road and she shouted out 'Get away, get away you two. Let him hurt me.

Don't let him hurt you'."

Taxi driver Rashid Hussain also described Ms Aswat's role in helping Mrs Cox.

He said: "Jo's head was in her lap and she was pleading for Jo to stand up, talking about her kids.

"Her hands and clothes were covered in blood. She was the only person there helping her."

He said he challenged Mair after seeing him stab the MP.

He said: "I said: 'What are you doing? What's wrong with you?'

"He said: 'Move back, otherwise I'm going to stab you'."

Jack Foster told the court how he shouted "F****** leave her alone" and followed Mair from the scene as he "casually" walked away following the attack.

A number of witnesses rang 999 to report the attack, including Darren Playford, who told operators: "There's hell on. It's chaos, he's stabbed and shot people."

And Julie Holmes, who witnessed the attack from her shop, said Mair looked straight at her during the incident.

She said: "He looked me right in the eye and lifted the gun, not pointing it at me but as a gesture, saying 'Here I am'."

'YOU HAVE NOT EVEN HAD THE COURAGE TO ADMIT WHAT YOU DID'

Mr Justice Wilkie's sentencing remarks in full on Thomas Mair at the Old Bailey:

"By the verdicts of the jury, Jo Cox was murdered by you on 16 June 2016 and you caused Bernard Kenny grievous bodily harm with intent to do so.

"Because of her position as a Member of Parliament, her death was both a personal tragedy and a crime with great public significance.

"To her family, friends and colleagues Jo Cox was a wonderful mother, daughter, sister, partner, and companion, her generosity of spirit evident in the selfless concern she had for others even when facing a violent death. Their loss, caused by your actions, is and will be, almost unbearable.

"But because she was a Member of Parliament, the reason you murdered her, your crime has an additional dimension which calls for particularly severe punishment.

"She was just 41. Before being elected as an MP she had already demonstrated herself to be a credit to herself, her community, and her country in the work she performed for Oxfam and other organisations devoting herself to seeking to better the lot of those less fortunate than her.

"She had only recently embarked on her role as an MP but had already shown herself to be passionate, openhearted, inclusive and generous as well as highly effective.

"The tributes to her from across the political spectrum were spontaneous, sincere and fulsome.

"The fundamental importance to our democracy for Members of Parliament to be able to perform their duties and meet their constituents safely and fearlessly is reflected in the fact that no respectable political party contested the by-election caused by her death.

"In the true meaning of the word she was a patriot.

"You affect to be a patriot. The words you uttered repeatedly when you killed her give lip service to that concept. Those sentiments can be legitimate and can have resonance but in your mouth, allied to your actions, they are tainted and made toxic.

"It is clear from your internet and other researches that your inspiration is not love of country or your fellow citizens, it is an admiration for Nazism, and similar anti democratic white supremacist creeds where democracy and political persuasion are supplanted by violence towards and intimidation of opponents and those who, in whatever ways, are thought to be different and, for that reason, open to persecution.

"Our parents' generation made huge sacrifices to defeat those ideas and values in the Second World War. What you did, and your admiration for those views which informed your crime, betrays the sacrifices of that generation.

"You are no patriot. By your actions you have betrayed the quintessence of our country, its adherence to parliamentary democracy.

"You have not even had the courage to admit and acknowledge what you did.

"You have, instead, forced the prosecution to prove this case in detail, withholding your agreement to anything which would have lessened that task, thereby adding, I have no doubt deliberately, to the anguish of Jo Cox's family and the witnesses to these awful events forced, as they have been, to relive them.

"By contrast your second victim on that day, Bernard Kenny, acted instinctively and courageously trying to save a person he saw being attacked and by so doing was seriously injured himself. The ongoing cost to him is evidence from his Victim Personal Statement.

"His actions on that day are deserving of the highest praise and commendation.

"As you know, the only sentence I can pass on you for murder is one of life imprisonment, and I do so.

"I also have to consider whether to fix a minimum term or, by not doing so, to impose a whole life sentence which would mean that you would, in all likelihood, die in prison.

"I have to consider schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

"There is no doubt that this murder was done for the purpose of advancing a political, racial and ideological cause namely that of violent white supremacism and exclusive nationalism most associated with Nazism and its modern forms.

"That is one of the indices of an offence of exceptionally high seriousness for which the appropriate starting point is a whole life term.

"This was a brutal, ruthless example of such a murder committed with determination and persistence. You armed yourself with a handgun and a vicious dagger designed to kill.

"You attacked Jo Cox repeatedly with both of them. You repelled an attempt by Mr Kenny to stop you in a similarly ruthless manner and, when it appeared, after your first assault, that Jo Cox might survive, you returned to inflict further fatal blows upon her.

"Your choice of weapons, a firearm and a knife places your offending even, without the political dimension, in categories having starting points of 30 and 25 years

"In addition, as an aggravating feature, there was a substantial degree of premeditation and planning. You had, over a period of weeks, researched your intended victim, you had researched the firearm which was modified to become a hand gun.

"You made inquiries about its ability to inflict fatal injury and you sought instruction on how to use it in that modified form. You informed yourself about previous murders of civil rights workers and a past assassination of a serving MP.

"You contemplated the aftermath, researching lying in state arrangements. You even researched matricide knowing that Jo Cox was the mother of young children.

"You planned your escape from the scene by adopting a form of disguise to put off those searching for you and, in the course of your escape, you reloaded the firearm ready for any eventuality.

"Finally, as the jury has decided, you fully intended to kill Jo Cox.

"You are aged 53 and have no previous convictions both of which I must take into account.

"I must consider whether the seriousness of this offence, though categorised as exceptionally high, in fact requires a whole life sentence or whether I should fix a minimum term which would hold out the possibility of release on licence when you are very old to permit you to die in the community.

"I have considered this anxiously but have concluded that this offence, as I have described it, is of such a high level of exceptional seriousness that it can only properly be marked by a whole life sentence. That is the sentence which I pass.

"You will, therefore, only be released, if ever, by the Secretary of State exercising executive clemency on humanitarian grounds to permit you to die at home. Whether or not that occurs will be a matter for the holder of that office at the time.

"On count 2: that offence is inextricably linked with the count of murder and, on grounds of its exceptional seriousness, I pass the same sentence, life imprisonment and I make a minimum term order of 15 years less time on remand being one half of 30 years.

"On count 3: that offence was committed in order to facilitate the commission of the murder of Jo Cox. Within the guidelines, it is of high harm and high culpability and the circumstances take it above the sentencing bracket. The sentence is one of 20 years imprisonment concurrent.

"On count 4: the maximum sentence for this offence is four years imprisonment and I pass that sentence to run concurrently with the other sentences."