Cyclists are riding almost 300 miles from Yorkshire to London in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox.
The Jo Cox Way 2022 saw riders depart from Batley - part of the Labour MP’s Batley and Spen constituency - on Wednesday (July 27) for a five day journey down to the capital.
The charity jaunt, which is raising money for The Jo Cox Foundation and More In Common, is a “tribute to her life, her beliefs and spirit of community” that exists in the UK, according to organisers.
Jo Cox was elected to the House of Commons on May 2015 but was savagely murdered just over a year later by right-wing fanatic Thomas Mair on June 16 2016.
Her sister, Kim Leadbeater, was elected to her former constituency during a by-election in 2021.
What happened to Jo Cox’s killer?
Thomas Mair is currently scheduled to die behind bars after he was slapped with a whole-life order at his sentencing for Jo Cox’s killing.
Whole-life orders are the most severe punishment available in the UK criminal justice system for those who commit the most serious crimes.
He will never be considered for release, unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
Mair was locked up terrorists and murderers at Frankland Prison in County Durham, where it is thought he continues to serve his sentence.
According to a report in the Daily Star a year after his imprisonment, Mair had become a “withdrawn, haunted figure” in his single cell in the high-security jail and “barely speaks” to anyone.
Why did Thomas Mair murder Jo Cox?
Neo-Nazi Thomas Mair shot the MP and former aid worker three times and stabbed her 15 times while shouting “Britain first”.
At Mair's Old Bailey trial, a witness stated that he had shouted: "This is for Britain. Britain will always come first.”
The lone-wolf attacker has refused to discuss his attack on mum-of-two Jo, 41, outside her constituency surgery in Birstall in West Yorkshire during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
The extremist, who had a small library in his home dedicated to Nazi, far-right and white supremacist books, had researched Jo Cox and previous murders of MPs before targeting the Remainer in the street.
He refused to answer police questions during interrogation and did not defend himself at the Old Bailey trail.
When handing down his life sentence, Mr Justice Wilkie, said he had no doubt Mair murdered Mrs Cox to advance political, racial, and ideological causes of violent white supremacism.
The judge said Mair was associated with an exclusive nationalism most associated with Nazism and its modern forms.
The Jo Cox Way cycle ride
Cyclists on The Jo Cox Way will wear jerseys emblazoned with the statement: #moreincommon.
The wording is taken from Jo's maiden speech in the Commons when she said: “We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.”
The fundraiser is the seventh Jo Cox Way cycle ride along the 285 mile route from the politician's constituency to London.
The format will see those taking part ride for five days, averaging approximately 65 miles over the first four days before enjoying a “leisurely” 25 miles on the final day descent into London.
