The Brexit debate has descended into a “bear pit of polarisation”, the husband of the murdered MP Jo Cox has said. Brendan Cox also said Boris Johnson was “sloppy” in saying the best way to honour the late MP was to get “Brexit done”, but he was not “an evil man”.
The PM had angered many MPs by using words such as “surrender” but Tory Chairman James Cleverly said the accusations were “deeply unfair”. Speaker John Bercow said the culture in the Commons had been “toxic”. He said passions were inflamed on both sides, the atmosphere had been “worse than any I’ve known” and urged MPs to “disagree agreeably”.
A Downing Street spokesman has said that, whatever their views, politicians and those in public life “shouldn’t face threats or intimidation… it’s completely unacceptable”.