Square named after Jo Cox MP

Two years after the murder of MP Jo Cox by a neo-Nazi terrorist, a square in Brussels has been named after her.

Mrs Cox, who lived in Brussels for six years before representing Batley and Spen in the House of Commons, was named on a list of ‘illustrious women’ who are having squares, streets and buildings named after them. It is a bid to balance the scales between male and female recognition and honour in the city.

The naming ceremony was attended by Mrs Cox’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, her parents and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The family said they were “honoured that the city of Brussels has chosen to remember Jo in this way”.

Mrs Leadbeater also discussed her concerns about the lack of progress following her sister’s death: “However, over two years after, and despite many people working extremely hard to show that Jo’s murder was not in vain, I’m sadly not at all sure that this was the case. As well as being a celebration of Jo’s life, I feel that today is also an opportune time to reflect on this.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Jeremy Corbyn expressed his gratitude to the people of Brussels for a “truly wonderful gesture”.

Jo Cox was stabbed to death in her constituency following a surgery she was holding in a local library. It paused EU referendum campaigning and shook this country to its core. Mrs Cox left behind a husband and two young children.