British MP’s ‘killer’ a loner, had ties to neo-Nazi group

The 52-year-old man arrested in connection with the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox has been described by his neighbours as a quiet loner with a passion for gardening. His family said he had a history of mental illness.

The suspect, who lived close to the scene where Cox was shot and stabbed in her constituency near Leeds in northern England, was named by the media as Thomas, or Tommy, Mair. There have been no charges in connection with the murder.

Next-door neighbour Diana Peters, 65, told Reuters, “I’m totally devastated... He’s been very helpful... Anything I asked him to do he did very willingly.” Mair had taught English to foreigners in the local community for several years, she added.

A US-based civil rights group, Southern Poverty Law Centre, said on its website that it had obtained records which linked Mair to a neo-Nazi organisation, National Alliance, dating back to 1999.

Family members, however, said Mair had not expressed strong political views, media reported.

His half-brother Duane St. Louis said he believed his brother “wouldn’t hurt a fly”. “He’s never expressed any views about Britain, or politics or racist tendencies. I’m mixed race and I’m his half-brother, we got on well,” he told the Sun. He told the Sun, “He’s never expressed any views about Britain, or politics or racist tendencies. I’m mixed race and I’m his half-brother, we got on well.”

Mair’s house was taped off with police guards outside on Friday in an estate of small houses, many draped with English flags because of the European soccer tournament.

The Guardian newspaper said police were investigating Mair’s political affiliations following witness accounts that the suspect shouted “Britain first” as he launched the attack. Britain votes on June 23 about whether to leave the European Union and campaigning has sometimes been acrimonious.

“He has a history of mental illness but he has had help,” the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. “I am struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don’t even know who he votes for.”