THE widow of pensioner Bernard Kenny who tried to fight off MP Jo Cox's murderer has received the George Medal awarded to her husband.

The former miner died before he could collect his honour, awarded for his bravery after he was stabbed as he intervened when Thomas Mair attacked Mrs Cox in his home village of Birstall in June 2016.

After Mrs Cox's murder there were numerous calls for Mr Kenny to be honoured, including a petition aimed at securing him the George Cross - the highest possible civilian honour.

Mr Kenny's widow Doreen received the medal from the Queen at an investiture ceremony held at Buckingham Palace today (Tuesday, November 7).

Her husband died in August this year at the age of 79.

At Mair's trial at the Old Bailey, the jury heard that Mr Kenny was waiting for his wife outside the library in Birstall when he saw Mair going "berserk".

He said in a statement to police: "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'."

Mr Kenny described Mair's actions as a "pure act of evil".

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.

Mr Kenny, who shared a birthday with Mrs Cox, worked as a miner for 40 years and was a former member of the Gomersal Mines Rescue team, which tried to save victims of the Lofthouse mine disaster in 1973.

Neo-Nazi Mair was given a whole life sentence for the murder of Mrs Cox, and was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Kenny and possession of a gun and dagger.