THE HUSBAND OF murdered British MP Jo Cox has quit jobs at two charities he set up in her memory, over allegations of sexual harassment.
The claims were published in the Mail on Sunday last weekend. The newspaper reported that Brendan Cox sexually harassed a Save the Children co-worker outside a bar in London in 2015, the year before his wife was fatally shot and stabbed.
It is also alleged that he inappropriately touched a woman during a trip to Harvard University in the US a few months later.
Cox, 39, previously told the Mail the allegations against him as a “massive exaggeration”.
In a statement released last night, Cox announced that he would be leaving his roles at the Jo Cox Foundation and More in Common.
“I want to apologise deeply and unreservedly for my past behaviour and for the hurt and offence that I have caused.
“In the aftermath of Jo’s murder, I promised that I would dedicate my life to two things, firstly loving and protecting our children and secondly fighting the hatred that killed Jo.
“In the last few days allegations from several years ago have resurfaced that makes concentrating on both of those tasks much more difficult…
While I do not accept the allegations contained in the 2015 complaint to the police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I do acknowledge and understand that during my time at Save the Children I made mistakes and behaved in a way that caused some women hurt and offence.
“This was never malicious but it was certainly inappropriate. In the past I have focused on disputing what I felt was untrue in the allegations, but I realise now that it’s more important to take full responsibility for what I have done.
“I am committed to holding myself to much higher standards of personal conduct in the future,” he said.
‘Integrity’
A spokesperson for the Jo Cox Foundation told Sky News the charity’s board has accepted his resignation. They also praised his “integrity, commitment and dedication”.
“The person described in these allegations is not the Brendan we know…
“People have looked up to him and, while we are all upset to read some of the stuff that has been printed, those people need to know that they are right to admire him for everything he has said and done since Jo’s death,” the spokesperson said.
Labour MP Jo Cox, 41, was murdered by white supremacist Thomas Mair during the Brexit referendum campaign in June 2016.
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