Jo Cox murder trial: 'white supremacist' Thomas Mair 'had Third Reich ornament in his home'

Murdered: Jo Cox was shot and stabbed outside her constituency surgery
PA Wire
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

An alleged white supremacist accused of murdering Jo Cox MP had a gold ornament of a Third Reich eagle adorned with a swastika at his house, the Old Bailey heard.

Thomas Mair, 53, had books on Germany military history and the Holocaust and a publication entitled March Of The Titans: A History Of The White Race at his home in Birstall, west Yorkshire.

He had a printout of a Wikipedia entry on the White Patriot Party, as well as clippings about Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, jurors were told.

Mair is on trial accused of stabbing and shooting Ms Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, on June 16 this year, just a week before the EU Referendum.

Thomas Mair: He allegedly shot and stabbed the 41-year-old outside her constituency surgery
PA

It is alleged he said “Britain First” repeatedly as he was carrying out the attack, in front of shocked locals who tried in vain to save their MP.

PC Nicholas Russell, who raided Mair’s council home in Lowood Lane, Birstall, found a bookshelf next to his single bed filled with literature.

“I saw on a few of the shelves the subject matter was of German military history”, he said.

“On top of the bookcase was a small gold-coloured ornament of a Third Reich eagle with a swastika on it.”

Funeral: people line the road to watch her funeral cortege pass through Batley
Darren Staples/Reuters

The court also heard Mair had rune stones in a bag, including one with a symbol of the BBB White Liberation Movement on it.

He also had a print-out from Ms Cox’s online biography at his house.

Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told jurors Mair attended Birstall library regularly to use the public computers, researching far right and Nazi subjects as well as mass murderers.

He said Mair looked up Dylann Roof, the man suspected of shooting dead parishioners in Charleston last June, as well as Nazi leaders including Franz Hofer.

He is also said to have searched for Belgian extreme right group Westland New Post, the British National Party, and white power group the Occidental Observer.

Killed: Jo Cox was attacked a week before the EU referendum vote (Yui Mok/PA )
Yui Mok/PA

Mair is accused of carrying out the murder as Ms Cox arrived at a regular surgery at Birstall library just before 1pm.

Earlier, Mair’s neighbour Katie Green told the court she saw him at the bus stop just minutes before the attack, and he appeared to be waiting for a bus.

“He was at the front of the queue looking like he was just waiting to get on to the bus”, she said.

"He had a pair of dark trousers and a dark green khaki jacket and dark cream baseball cap.

"He always carried bags. He had three or four bags. I saw him walk off."

Moment later, Ms Green heard a “commotion”, and fearing for her safety took her daughter straight home in a taxi.

Describing Mair, she said: “He was very quiet, very shy, didn’t see any visitors.

“He always kept the garden very tidy, always spent a lot of time in the garden.”

Mair denies Mrs Cox's murder, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon - a dagger.

He also pleads not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to pensioner Bernard Carter-Kenny on the same date.

The trial continues.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in