Spotlight: Killing of anti-Brexit lawmaker arouses global reaction, boosts "remain" campaign

The killing of an anti-Brexit lawmaker has aroused global reaction as a June 23 referendum on whether Britain will remain in the European Union (EU) is drawing near.

Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate for Britain staying in the EU, was attacked while preparing to meet constituents in Birstall near Leeds in northern England.

The Yorkshire Post newspaper reported the 41-year-old mother of two was shot and stabbed by a man reportedly shouting "Britain first."

The police said a 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder but his motive remains under investigation.

"Britain First" is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group. The group released a statement saying it was "obviously not involved" and "would never encourage behavior of this sort."

After the attack, pro- and anti-Brexit groups said they were suspending all campaigning for Thursday and Friday ahead of the EU membership referendum.

GLOBAL REACTION

British Prime Minister David Cameron canceled a planned visit to Gibraltar as part of his campaign for Britain to remain in the EU.

"We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning member of parliament with huge compassion, with a big heart," Cameron said in a statement.

"It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time," he added.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Jo Cox died doing her job at the heart of our democracy, listening to and serving the people she was elected to serve. The whole country is in shock and grief at the horrific murder."

"The incident is terrible, dramatic and our thoughts are with the people affected -- the Labour lawmakers, the politicians. I don't want to connect this with the vote on Great Britain staying in the European Union," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: "Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her it's our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that!"

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also expressed his sorrow, calling the attack "an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy. And our thoughts are profoundly with the family -- her husband, her children -- and with all of the British people, who I know feel the loss profoundly."

"My thoughts are with her family, her friends, and the British people. It was a true shock to me that a British politician was killed during the campaign," Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen said.

UNKNOWN INFLUENCE

It remains unknown about what kind of impact Cox's death would have on the referendum. But some analysts say it could boost the pro-EU "remain" campaign, which in recent days has fallen behind the "leave" camp in pre-referendum polls.

The latest IPSOS-Mori poll puts the "leave" voters at a six-point lead, despite the most intensive campaigning by the "remain" camp over the past few days.

With just a week to go before 43 million Britons decide whether Britain is to stay in or leave the 28-member bloc, Thursday had been slated as a busy day to win over the millions still undecided.

Earlier, the leaders of Britain's 10 biggest provincial cities joined forces Thursday to warn that leaving the EU would pose a grave threat to a number of local economies.

The Core Cities Group includes Britain's biggest provincial city, Birmingham, as well as Glasgow and the Welsh capital of Cardiff.

Many British cities have been the recipients of Brussels funding through European regional development funds.

Leaders of the 10 cities said in a joint statement: "Leaving would be a grave threat to our local economies, risking people's jobs and livelihoods. If we vote for Brexit, it will be those at the sharp end -- working people -- not the leaders of the leave campaign, who will pay the price. A vote to leave is a vote for serious economic danger. It is simply not worth the risk."

They said membership in the EU had created 63,000 jobs and protected another 16,800 across the 10 city regions, and provided 2.54 billion U.S. dollars of investment to help grow urban economies.

Also signing the statement were the leaders of Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

The focus of the campaign had been the north of England, a traditional Labour stronghold where the canvassing of party members showed strong support for leaving the EU.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn on a visit to the north said Thursday many Labour voters backing Brexit "haven't understood" the benefits of the EU.

A vote to leave could also hit global markets, according to a warning issued Thursday by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

In its statement issued Thursday, the bank said a vote to leave the EU could materially alter the outlook for output and inflation, and therefore the appropriate setting of monetary policy. Endi