Stephen Graham is set to star in an ITV drama based on the true story behind the plot to kill West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper.
The MP announced yesterday that she is stepping down from her role after 17 years to take up the role as chairman of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, despite securing reselection to stand as West Lancashire MP at the next General Election. In her announcement that she is resigning, the 72-year-old politician made reference to the impact of the incident which saw Jack Renshaw plot to kill her.
Jack Renshaw, from Skelmersdale, bought a Gladius Machete with intention of killing Rosie Cooper, with him pleading to guilty and being sentenced to life in prison in 2019. The dramatisation of the plot, dubbed The Walk In, is set to air on ITV on October 3 , with it chronicling the murderous plans and how it was stopped by anti-fascism campaign group Hope not Hate. The show was announced on the same day she resigned.
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Ms Cooper said in her statement, referencing the traumatic event: "The events I have faced over the last few years are well documented and undoubtedly have taken their toll.”
The drama centres around informant Robbie Mullen and his handler at Hope not Hate, Matthew Collins, played by Graham, exploring how the organisation infiltrated the banned far-right terror group National Action (NA) and managed to prevent the attack in 2017. Jack Renshaw, now currently in prison after being sentenced to preparing acts of terrorism, plotted to kill the MP just a year after fellow Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered, LancsLive reports.
Since NA was proscribed as a terrorist group for glorifying Ms Cox’s killing, 19 extremists have been successfully prosecuted for being members. Nick Lowles, HnH chief executive, said: “At Hope not Hate our aim is to continually challenge extremist and far right-wing activity within the UK.
“Our role in foiling an active plot to kill a serving politician is something that we are extremely proud of as an organisation. The fact that this story is going to be highlighted and told to the public through ITV’s upcoming series will further bolster Hope not Hate’s work to scupper these groups, increasing awareness, and will continue to aid us to support at-risk communities and at-risk individuals.”
Mr Collins, who is head of intelligence, said: “Our work at Hope not Hate is tireless, risky and often stays out of the public eye for very good reason. It’s a huge undertaking to run sources in the far-right, which in this case led to preventing a murder. We continue to gather information and intelligence to counter active threats and planned activities by the far right. Here at Hope not Hate we really hope that The Walk In will give the public an insight into how real these threats are.”
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