Finsbury Park attack: Widower of murdered MP Jo Cox argues all extremists deserve same treatment

'We have to treat this act of terrorism, if that’s what it ends up being, in the same way we would treat any other act of terrorism,' says Brendan Cox

Mr Cox argues that while the person who committed the attack needs to take full responsibility for his actions, Britain needs to improve at examining the complex context in which events such as these occur (Screengrab)

The widower of murdered MP Jo Cox has spoken out in the wake of the Finsbury Park attack and argued far-right extremists and Islamist extremists should be subject to the same treatment.

Brendan Cox argued such fanatical, immoderate individuals are guided by the same principles and united by their abhorrence for diversity and belief in supremacy.

Writing on Twitter just hours after the suspected terror attack, he said: “Far right fascists and Islamist terrorists are driven by same hatred of difference, same ideology of supremacy and use same tactics. We'll defeat both.

“When Islamist terrorists attack we rightly seek out hate preachers who spur them on. We must do the same to those who peddle Islamophobia.”

Mr Cox, who has often called on Britain to unite against hatred in the wake of his wife’s tragic death, added: “Pathetic to see the far-right now try and portray their incitement to violence as simple commentary. You hear same excuses from Islamist apologists.”

Appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Cox said while the public needed to know the full facts before they could judge what had happened, it was becoming clearer the attack was driven by “an act of hatred not just of insanity”.

He argued that while the person who committed the act of violence needed to take full responsibility for his actions, Britain needed to get better at examining the context in which events such as these occur. He suggested people who hold extremist views were feeling increasingly emboldened to act on their beliefs in the current political climate, citing President Donald trump’s comments about Muslims as an example of heightened xenophobia.

“We’ve spoken about and talked a lot about what we can do to crack down on those [Islamist extremist] hate preachers but there are also extremists who are using language about cleansing Britain of Islam who are talking about a final solution for Muslims.”

He added: “You’ll see online and it’s very clear that there are a series of organisations who are actively inciting hatred, not against extremists, but against Muslims as a whole. I think those people are very well organised, they’re very well-funded and well-financed.”

Mr Cox was insistent Britain needed to treat last night’s events like we have discussed terrorist events which shook London and Manchester in recent weeks, saying: “We have to treat this act of terrorism, if that’s what it ends up being, in the same way, that we would treat any other act of terrorism.”

“We all have to look at ourselves and actually more mainstream organisations and media organisations, who probably don’t tip over into the active incitement of violence, but I do think sometimes blur the distinction and talk in a way where people think that Muslims as a whole are represented by people who commit the attacks in Manchester or London. They don’t in the same way that this attack does not represent the vast majority of people”.

His comments follow a weekend of celebrations to mark the anniversary of his wife’s death and celebrate her life and enduring legacy. He organised the Great Get Together from 16-18 June, which saw thousands of gatherings such as street parties, picnics and coffee mornings take place across the country.

The Labour MP, who was a mother-of-two, was brutally shot and stabbed by a far-right extremist in Birstall, in her constituency of Batley and Spen in June last year.

One person has died and eight people have been taken to a hospital after a van ploughed into people near a north London mosque last night.

The van driver, described by witnesses as a large white man, was detained by members of the public after the attack at Finsbury Park.

One witness recalled being surrounded by bodies in the wake of the attack outside the Muslim Welfare House, which is on Seven Sisters Road, and a few hundred metres from Finsbury Park mosque. Another said the attacker shouted about killing Muslims as he attempted to flee the scene before being held by local residents.

“The driver of the van - a man aged 48 - was found detained by members of the public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.

“He has been taken to hospital as a precaution and will be taken into custody once discharged.

"He will also be the subject of a mental health assessment in due course."

It was the third recent incident in the capital in which a vehicle has been used to kill, and Muslims who gathered in the area discussed worries of being targeted in hate attacks.