Jo Cox anniversary: 'Our family has not been broken' says husband a year on from her death
Jo Cox's widower has said his family has not been broken by her murder ahead of the first anniversary of the MP's death.
Brendan Cox said the killing of his wife on June 16 last year shattered the family and they continue to grieve for the 41-year-old mother-of-two, who was murdered in the street by far-right terrorist Thomas Mair.
"When Jo was killed a year ago it took the heart out of our family," he said.
"The first emotion was shock, both numbing and shattering. That in time gave way to a grief that remains very fresh, very raw and continues to hit us in vicious waves when we least expect it. But our family has not been broken."
Speaking ahead of The Great Get Together festival taking place this weekend in her honour, Mr Cox said his family had been comforted by the nationwide "wave of compassion and kindness".
More than 110,000 community events and street parties will take place in a bid to bring communities together, which Mr Cox said was "more important now than ever".
He added: "We hope these events give us all a moment - as Jo talked about in her maiden speech - to focus on the things we have in common.
"I also hope they are fun, full of energy and laughter. That's what Jo would have wanted."
Mr Cox said his wife's murder "aimed to divide communities but has instead brought them together".
"At a time when extremists of all types are trying to divide our communities there is a huge ground swell of people who just want to focus on the things that unite us, who want to draw closer to their neighbours and communities," he added.
"I think people are sick of the narrative of hatred and division that neither represents who they are nor our great country."
Mrs Cox's sister, Kim Leadbeater, said The Great Get Together stood for everything her sibling stood for.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, she said: "Just sitting down every now and again and forgetting about our differences, forgetting about the things we disagree on, and focussing on the fact that we're all human beings, we all have to get out of bed on a morning, we all have to pay our bills.
"Let's just sit down and just be a little bit kinder to each other, a little bit more respectful to each other.
"And that's really the concept behind The Great Get Together. And it's something Jo would have loved and it's certainly been a very positive focus for us as a family."