The widower of the late Jo Cox believes the Labour MP was killed because of her political beliefs. In his first public interview since the MP for Batley and Spen was shot and stabbed in Birstall, West Yorkshire, Brendan Cox said the mother of two died "for her views".

Cox, a Remain supporter who had campaigned for the rights of refugees in the UK, also spoke about her concern about the "coarsening" of the upcoming EU Referendum.

Speaking to the BBC, Cox said: "I don't want people ascribing views to her that she didn't have but I certainly want to continue to fight for the legacy and for the politics and the views she espoused. Because they were what she was, she died for them and we definitely want to make sure that we continue to fight for them."

He added: "I think she was very worried that the language was coarsening, that people were being driven to take more extreme positions, that people didn't work with each other as individuals and on issues, it was all much too tribal and unthinking."

Cox, who would have turned 42 on Wednesday (23 June), was praised in a specially recalled House of Commons by MPs on 20 June. David Cameron described her as an MP who "epitomised the best of humanity". He added: "May we and the generation of members that follow us in this House honour her memory, proving the democracy she stood for is unbreakable."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Jo Cox didn't just believe in loving her neighbour, she believed in loving her neighbour's neighbour. She saw a whole word as neighbours. She believed every life counted equally."

A GoFundMe campaign set up by friends and family of Cox also managed to raise more than £1m ($1.46m) a little over three days after it was set up. Mr Cox believes the "outpouring of love" following the death of his wife will help their two young children see that "grief that they feel isn't abnormal".

He added: "They feel it more acutely and more painfully and more personally but that actually their mother was someone who was loved by lots of people and that therefore, it's okay to be upset and it's okay for them to cry and to be sad about it.

"I remember so much about her but most of all I will remember that she met the world with love and both love for her children, love in her family and also love for people she didn't know. She just approached things with a spirit, she wasn't perfect at all you know, but she just wanted to make the world a better place, to contribute, and we love her very much."

Jo Cox tributes
Flowers surround a picture of Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square Dan Kitwood/Getty Images