FURTHER tributes have been paid to murdered MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Darlington town centre today (Tuesday, June 21).

More than 50 people attended the event, organised by the town's Labour MP Jenny Chapman to enable residents to pay their respects to the mum-of-two who was killed in her West Yorkshire constituency last Thursday.

In a moving tribute to her Labour colleague, Ms Chapman said: “The whole country has been stunned by the heinous act that took her from us.

“She really was a remarkable individual. She was kind, brave, thoughtful, beautiful, full of joy.

“She had the most charismatic smile you’ve ever seen. Everybody wanted to be near Jo, she was a wonderful, wonderful person.”

Ms Chapman added: “She wasn’t murdered because of who she was, she was murdered because of what she was, an elected Member of Parliament, that is why she was taken.

“We cry all the harder because of the reason she was taken.

“It was an attack on democracy and that’s why we are so outraged as well as saddened at her loss.”

Two minutes’ silence was observed and Ms Chapman laid a bouquet of white roses on the Market Cross monument to represent Mrs Cox’s Yorkshire heritage, along with a dozen single white roses laid by members of the public.

Hymns and words were shared and Labour councillor Malcolm Wright, 64, said: “She (Mrs Cox) was incredibly intelligent, incredibly committed to helping anyone, everywhere and that’s what I think has affected people so much.

“We’ve lost somebody with such an enormous amount of humanity. It was wonderful to see such a cross section of Darlington people today, everybody standing together.”

A further service and vigil will be held at St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle tomorrow (Wednesday, June 22) at 6.30pm on what would have been Mrs Cox 42nd birthday.