Jo Cox: Death Of An MP (BBC-2 2017)

On 16 June 2016 the murder of Jo Cox – in the heat of EU referendum campaigning – shocked the nation. Jo Cox: Death Of An MP tells the story of this horrific attack and events surrounding it through the testimony of those closest to it, including Jo Cox’s family, eye witnesses and those who knew the murderer, Thomas Mair.

With unique access to West Yorkshire Police’s murder investigation the programme draws together for the first time all the CCTV, archive footage and other evidence that was gathered by the investigating officers.

The result is a forensic exploration of what the prosecutors at Mair’s trial called a ‘terrorist’ murder’. The programme asks, what led a man with no history of violence to brutally murder a female MP whom he had never met?

Jo Cox’s political convictions and the issues she fought so passionately for were at odds with Mair’s viewpoint, which some think motivated him to murder. Who Jo Cox was, and what she stood for, is explored in the film through archive footage and intimate interviews with family and friends.

Set against the backdrop of the EU referendum as the political temperature rises across the country, Jo Cox: Death Of An MP is a detailed account of that tragic day and sheds a unique light on the mystery of why Thomas Mair abandoned his quiet life to commit an act of terrorism.

key behind the scenes crew
Dan Reed as Executive Producer
Toby Paton as Producer and Director

show type
documentary

broadcast from
Monday 12 June 2017

network and production companies
BBC Two – Amos