Jo Cox’s widower has urged unity in both the parliament and the public after the prime minster rebuked pleas from Labour MPs to moderate his language.
Boris Johnson sparked fury on Wednesday evening after responding to pleas from friends of the MP, who was murdered by a far-right extremist in June 2016, to tone down his language by referring to them as “humbug” and claimed the best way to “honour” her memory would be “to get Brexit done”.
Brendan Cox said he “felt a bit sick at Jo’s name being used in this way,” following the debate.
In a post on Twitter he wrote: “The best way to honour Jo is for all of us (no matter our views) to stand up for what we believe in, passionately and with determination.
“But never to demonise the other side and always hold onto what we have in common.”
In a secondary tweet, Cox reemphasised that his sentiments were directed towards all sides of the debate.
He said: “Just to reiterate this is about the role we all play. Just as ‘surrender’ and ‘betrayal’ is inflammatory language, so is ‘coup’ and ‘fascist’.
“Let’s all play our part in dialling it down.”
Johnson has been responding to Labour MP Paula Sherriff’s request directly to the prime minister to stop using language such as “surrender” or “betrayal”, stating that the words he used had often been echoed in death threats and abuse both her and her colleagues had received.
Members of the Conservative party have also since backed pleas for more moderate language, with Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan revealing she had shared death threats she had received with Johnson.
She said: “At a time of strong feelings we all need to remind ourselves of the effect of everything we say on those watching us.”
Welsh Conservative MP Stephen Crabb said Johnson had a “duty” to reduce the level of “poison in our politics”.
Former secretary of state for the Department of Work and Pensions, MP Amber Rudd, appeared on ITV on Wednesdays evening, where she condemned the use of inflammatory language.
Speaking to host Robert Peston, she said: “This whole approach of pitting parliament against the people is dangerous and dishonest.”
Whilst there was widespread disagreement with Johnson’s comments amongst politicians, some members of the prime minister’s party leapt to his defence.
Conservative MP for Plymouth and minister Johnny Mercer retweeted a comment by Guardian columnist Marina Hyde, which slammed Johnson’s comments, and added: “the selective outrage mob want it exclusively their way.
“Honestly? It’s all unnecessary, and I wish it wasn’t a feature of politics.
“But the reality is that your type and many MPs have stoked this fire for years, and cry wolf when it becomes a two way street.”
Fellow minister MP Simon Clarke simply retweeted two close-up images of Labour MPs Paula Sherriff and Barry Sheerman, describing the party as “utterly toxic”.