Return to Transcripts main page

Hala Gorani Tonight

British Member of Parliament Murdered; Britisn Leaders React to the Murder; Russian Track and Field Athletes Banned from Competition for Doping. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 17, 2016 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Tonight, grief and shock across England after the murder of Jo Cox, the raw emotion from her countrymen and women

as they pour into the streets to remember her. And all the details emerging about the man accused of shooting and stabbing her in broad

daylight.

Hello everyone, anyone I'm Hala Gorani, we're live from CNN London, this is a special extended edition of the "World Right Now."

The country is still in shock, it has to be said. This type of violence is rare, political violence such as the type of attack we saw in North England

yesterday, extremely rare, hasn't happen since 1990. In fact police in England are now saying they are focusing on whether the man who shot and

killed M.P. Jo Cox was a right-wing extremist. That as memorials to the murdered member of Parliament grow across the country. Take a look at

these live pictures, they're coming to us from Parliament Square in London, lawmakers are being called back from recess early so they can pay tribute

to Jo Cox on Monday. We do not have those light images for you will get to them as soon as we have them.

But this was earlier, the Prime Minister David Cameron and his political rival the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn traveled to Birstall, where they laid

flowers at a memorial and spoke to reporters, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, U.K. PRIMES MINISTER: Here we are today commemorating her life that's been lost. And of course the most profound thing that's

happened is that two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife, and of course Parliament has lost one of its most passionate

and brilliant campaigner, someone who epitomized the fact that politics is about serving others.

Today our nation is rightly shocked. And I think it is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that is so important about our

country. The fact that we should treasure and value our democracy where members of Parliament are out in the public, accountable to the public,

available to the public, and that is how Jo died, she died doing her job.

JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. It's an attack on democracy

what happened yesterday. It's the will of hatred that killed her. She leaves behind a husband who made a truly wonderful statement yesterday, a

statement saying that in her memory we would try to conquer hatred with love and with respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: And that was Jeremy Corbyn, also David Cameron the Prime Minister. By the way, these are aerial pictures as we get ready to speak with Will

Ripley in just a moment. Aerial pictures of Parliament Square, that's where the vigil honoring Jo Cox is taking place. We just lost that

pictures so a good opportunity to go ground-level to Will Ripley with more on how Londoners and others are trying to honor Jo Cox on this sad day.

Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Hala, as you know here the palace of Westminster, a really iconic place for tourist to come and snap pictures,

it's a symbol of British democracy but today so many people both tourists and locals alike are here for a very different reason. It has been

unremarkable to watch over the last several hours how this memorial just continues to organically grow. People coming, they're placing flowers,

they're placing notes with cards and personal messages, and the overwhelming emotion out here truly is a feeling of sadness and loss that

somebody like Jo Cox who entered the House of Commons in her early 40s, with the determination to help people.

Her constituents who she was meeting with when she was attacked and killed more than 24 hours ago now, people here are days still that this could have

happened here, including, we just saw a moment ago Ed Miliband who was the former leader of the Labour Party at the time when Cox was first elected,

she only to served 13 months as an M.P. And from the people that we spoke into here, who took time out of their day to come, it is truly an emotional

and sad time. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole of the community in Birstall are shocked by what has happened. Jo Cox was a very, very well respected M.P.; she

supported our local community in Birstall. She was just sociable person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she was far more worldly wise and cared a little more about her local people, which is why she was MP in her

hometown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She spoke to my mother when she was out campaigning last year, ans she spent time listening and talking to her. And then she

gave my mother a big hug and that really connected with me.

[14:35:04] RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: And your mother never forgot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mother never forgot. My mother was out here yesterday where we walk into the vigil that was here last night.

QUEST: How was that vigil last night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well we have members from all -- everywhere from the community, from every member of the community, we have Muslim people and

Christians, we have everyone. And it was really good in a way that we all had a chance to reflect about Jo, and we all had a chance to think about

her. And it was quite emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, those were people remembering Jo Cox in Birstall, her constituency. Will, let me ask you, what are people around you saying when

you asked them why did you come here, why did you think it was important to come here?

RIPLEY: It's remarkable Hala. The number of people who are coming here, this was a Facebook post earlier in the day and by just eyeballing it there

are minimum hundreds, possibly well over thousand and more expected to come. People saying that they came because this really was a -- is a loss

this country as a whole, at a time when Britain is truly divided in some of rhetoric, some of the political discourse has been vitriolic, has been

abusive.

More than half of the M.P.s in this country say they have been stalked or harassed and Jo Cox was no exception because of her stance not only in

pushing for voters to decide that Britain should stay in the European Union but also because of her support for the migrant community, and this country

is very divided over the migrant issue about whether Britain should be welcoming more migrants into its borders. That is something that Jo Cox

was very passionate about and as a result, there were many people who expressed their anger on social media, letters to her office, and yet she

kept doing her job.

And so, a number the folks out here tell me how, Hala, that they wish she would have had more than 13 months. They would have loved to see what she

could have accomplished because she was getting in to the House of Commons at a young age, and she could have gone for so much longer and perhaps done

some good. She rose above the back and forth and the nastiness and she was able to disagree, but still get along even with those who disagree with

her.

And that is why you see some of the some of the most outspoken voices in support of the Brixit, who have also been out here today paying their

respects. And many of her fellow M.P.s regardless of their views on the issue are expected to be here on Monday. There are 650 offices in the

Palace of Westminster behind me and 649 because there's an empty office tonight and a lot of grief here as a result of that Hala.

GORANI: And we understand the Tory Party is actually not going to present a candidate in the constituency of Jo Cox. However, the Labour candidate

is, that person will run unopposed. Are any of the people you speak with blaming or worried that perhaps the toxic debate, rhetoric surrounding the

Brixit referendum, are they worried that that's leading to the sort of atmosphere where politicians become targets?

RIPLEY: That is absolute an issue here, and of course on the minds of many people, the mass shooting in the United States, of the gay nightclub, just

the fact that the politician here was gunned down, just the fact it was a shooting death is stunning enough for people. And a woman who I spoke to

earlier had tears streaming down her eyes and she said this atmosphere of hate has been created and this needs to stop because she -- this woman told

me it was because of this atmosphere that Jo Cox lost her life.

And so, if anything could be accomplished from this, many here hoped that the country can move forward with a bit more unity and a bit more mutual

respect regardless of what the other's views are. And of course this is going to be a very big week, one of the biggest decisions facing voters one

week from now when they decide whether Britain will stay in the E.U. or go on its own. And, how this incident affects that discussion and the

campaigning that will eventually resume, it's been on pause but will resume. Will the tone change? We'll have to see.

GORANI: All right, we will have to see. We'll see. So it's hard to imagine that somehow it will not change, but we'll continue to follow that

story. Thanks very much, Will Ripley is in London, in front of the Houses of Parliament where that spontaneous tribute to Jo Cox is expanding as Will

is explaining there. Thank you very much Will Ripley.

Now, as tributes pour in for Jo Cox, new details are emerging about the man accused of killing her. Police say that right-wing extremism is, "A

priority line of enquiry to help establish the motive." And a local official tells CNN the suspect in fact lay in wait before stabbing and

shooting Cox in Birstall Thursday. The suspect named as Tommy Mair, he is in police custody, he has not been charged yet. A neighbor of the suspect

told CNN of her surprise at what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:40:00] DIANA PETERS, NEIGHBOR OF SUSPECT: This is totally unexpected. He was very mild mannered, kept himself to himself. I would never would

have thought -- thought of him doing this, never mind actually doing it.

I never knew his political believes we never discussed it. I never knew what he taught about the world or, it was our little world here we spoke

about. And, I was devastated, absolutely devastated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well that was the neighbor. And by the way, and by the way, according to the latest police statement, released just about an hour ago,

there is an indication that this murder investigation underway will be led by West Yorkshire police. They're working together with the Northeast

Counter terrorism unit, is what we're being told, who will bring in their own specialists to assist in this inquiry.

And here's a quick recap by the way of the timeline of Thursday's attack, it's becoming a lot clearer now. Jo Cox was shot at about 1:00 p.m. local

time after a meeting with constituents in Birstall. Police say the 52- year-old man was arrested close to the scene of the attack shortly afterward, and weapons including a firearm were recovered. We now know

that the man is Tommy Mair, that's the suspect.

Now at 1:48 p.m. local time, less than an hour after the attack, the 41- year-old politician was pronounced dead by a doctor working with a paramedic crew. We now know Jo Cox lost her life yesterday in her

constituency. We'll get more on this story throughout the next half hour, in the following hour of course on "The World Right Now."

But first, new details about the Orlando shooter coming in today, and his communication with his wife during the nightclub massacre is what were

learning.

CNN has learned the exchanged text messages, with his wife at one point responding, "I love you." We'll have a lot more after a quick break. Stay

with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well some very significant sporting news. The international competition ban against Russia's track and field team for doping has been

upheld. The International Association of Athletics Federations announced the decision a short time ago in Vienna, Austria. Russia wanted the ban

lifted obviously in time for its team to compete in the Rio Olympics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN COE, INTL.. ASSN.. OF ATHLETICS FEDERATION PRESIDENT: Although good progress has been made, the IAAF counsel was unanimous that RusAF had

not met the reinstatement conditions and the Russian athletes could not credibly return to international competition without undermining the

confidence of their competitors and the public. As a result RusAF has not been reinstated to membership of the IAAF at this stage.

[14:45:04] The second recommendation is that while RusAF remains suspended no other representatives of RusAF, i.e. officials, athlete, support

personnel should take part in international competition or in the affairs of the IAAF.

RUNE ANDERSEN, NORWEGIAN INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DOPING EXPERT: The deep seated culture of tolerance or worse for doping that got RusAF suspended in the

first place appears not to have been changed materially to date. The head coach of the Russian athletic team, and many of the athletes on that team

appear unwilling to acknowledge the nature and extent of the doping problem in Russian athletics. And certain athletes and coaches appear willing to

ignore the doping rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well here's what's interesting, the World Athletics Governing body actually left the door open for individual Russian athletes to compete Rio

under a neutral flag, and that's if they can prove that they're clean. The International Olympic Committee has to ratify essentially the ruling by the

Athletics Federation for the team to be officially barred. Now he IOC meets on Tuesday, so we will keep our eye on that.

And heartbreaking scenes in Orlando Florida today, once again, more families say their final goodbyes to loved one s killed in a nightclub

massacre. Authorities now uncovering more signs that the gunmen had a troubled past. They say he had an extensive disciplinary record as a child

that stretched back to elementary school, documents show he talked frequently about violence and sex. And former classmates say he claimed

that Osama bin Laden was his uncle after the 9/11 attacks.

President Barack Obama says the victim's families are urging him to help stop gun violence. He offered -- he went there in person today, he offered

his condolences, also meeting with staff from the nightclub. These pictures were posted on the club's Facebook page, and you see there the

Vice President as well, Joe Biden with the President posing for pictures during the talk.

And investigators are also uncovering new details about the wife of the gun man, law enforcement officials tell CNN she actually communicated with her

husband during the massacre, quite a chilling new discovery. Jim Sciutto has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that Omar Meteen and his wife Noor Salman exchanged text messages during the nightclub attack, this

according to a law enforcement official. At one point he asked if she was watching the news. Salman also tried calling her husband several times

during the standoff with police.

New video of the attack captured on a cell phone from inside the Pulse Nightclub bathroom shows frightened club goers taking cover in a bathroom

stall. We continue to learn more about the harrowing moments inside the club.

CAPTAIN MARK CANTY, ORLANDO POLICE SWAT COMMANDER: There are other patrol officers running inside and pulling out victims. So while gunfire is still

going on, you know, as our officers engaging him, other police officers are running in their, you know, with no disregard, with regard for their

safety, and they're pulling some of those victims out.

SCIUTTO: Omar Delgado was one of the first police officers on the scene.

OFFICER OMAR DELGADO, EATONVILLE POLICE: It was kind dark, you know, had this disco light still going. And I just begun yelling, "Hey guys, come on

up, come on up." You know, "We got you, we got you." And just unfortunately, it took a minute but realized that they weren't faking, it's

just they couldn't get up.

SCIUTTO: In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Orlando Police Chief John Mina explained why officers waited hours before storming the

nightclub, despite victims shot and bleeding inside desperate to be rescued.

JOHN MINA, ORLANDO POLICE CHIEF: Our officers went in there, exchanged gunfire with him, forced him to retreat and basically become a barricaded

gunman in the bathroom.

SCIUTTO: Police finally made the call to blow through a wall and enter the club when the Mateen made a threat to detonate bombs inside.

MINA: We had information that he was going to put explosive vests on four people and then blow the place up in 15 minutes. About that time, we are

already said with our explosive breach and that's when we made the decision. Investigators now continue to look at what Mateen's wife nor

Salman knew about Mateen's plan.

Salman is now giving conflicting statements according to law enforcement officials, but admits that she suspected Mateen was planning an attack,

possibly on Pulse. Salman has told investigators that on the day before the shooting she tried to tell the Mateen not to commit any act of

violence, but she did not call the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right, and there you have it, the latest from Orlando.

Now, taking you to the Middle East, ISIS is losing more ground in the battle for Fallujah though Fallujah is not completely controlled by Iraqi

security forces.

[14:50:09] The terror group did suffer a major symbolic setback today. Iraq's federal police recaptured the building housing the mayor's office.

They raised the Iraqi flag over the neighborhood. Iraqi forces say ISIS snipers have taken up position in Fallujah's main hospital, so still some

fighting, some significant fighting left their -- is ahead for them.

Search crews have recovered the second of the so-called black boxes from EgyptAir 804, one day after announcing that the cockpit voice recorder was

found. Investigators say they retrieved the flight data recorder. Both boxes are headed back to Alexandria. 66 people were on board when Flight

804 disappeared from radar last month.

A quick break, when we come back, friends and colleagues are remembering British M.P. Jo Cox as a passionate advocate. Next, I'll speak to a woman

who knew her. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Those are live images, aerial images, as you can see of Parliament Square. That's where that vigil, that tribute to Jo Cox is taking place.

It is almost 8:00 p.m. here London time. And you see there are hundreds of people just reflecting on the life of this M.P. murdered in broad daylight

in her constituency. It has truly shocked many people.

Britain dint just lose a member of Parliament when Jo Cox died, the country also lose a passionate advocate who put her beliefs into action, because

before becoming and M.P. Cox worked for eight agency like Oxfam, among others. She was and has been throughout her career an outspoken supporter

of refugees. Cox used her time in the House of Commons to challenge the government over which she saw as inaction over Syria. Listen to what she

said just last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JO COX, BRITISH M.P.: The minister also agreed that we urgently now need a mechanism with clear consequences to deter further barbaric attacks on

civilians. I have raise repeatedly in this place the need for a no bombings zone. Will he look again at this now? What is the U.K. also

doing to with all those of influence of parties to this conflict, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Russia, to put pressure on all sides to stop

all attacks on civilian targets included in hospitals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: My next guest is Mina Al-Oraibi Radiation, she's an Iraqi-British journalist who knew Jo Cox and she joins me now live. First of all sorry,

you knew -- I mean my condolences to you. You knew her personally. What kind of a person was she?

MINA AL-ORAIBI, JOURNALIST: A very kind and thoughtful, fun, energetic person. I had the pleasure of getting to know Jo and her husband Brandon

through the Young Global Leaders Group and we are the same year 2009. I met her of course before she was an M.P. and she came about to thinking

about public service, she really believed in public service both through international development and the work she did at Oxfam and other agencies

but also then as an M.P. And so it was just wonderful to see how, you know, she took her beliefs at making the world a better place and making

Britain a better place.

The amazing thing about Joe was that she really believed in local issues and really cared about what was going on locally with her constituents and

so forth but also world issues.

[14:55:05] And so we just saw that clip on Syria, she cared deeply about Syria, she cared about what was going on the Middle East and other parts of

the world. But really believe in the virtues of openness, the virtues of building bridges rather than laws, and she, you know, she wasn't just one

of those people that preached, she actually practiced and she did everything that she could.

GORANI: What's interesting is she's very much a freshman M.P. and that sound bite that we that we just aired and she used her time in the House of

Commons to take to task some of the most senior politicians in the world, including President Obama saying essentially ending her speech there

saying, you know, all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. And I just -- I found that very interesting that someone so young

and so Junior would have that political courage.

AL-ORAIBI: Exactly, because she had political courage and moral courage. I mean she went into politics because of the morality of it, she believed

in this idea of being visionary, of not thinking of short-term goals rather than long-term, how can we actually rise to the occasion. And that Syria

statement was part of her efforts as a co-chair of the All Parliamentary Group on Syria that she helped establish which went into parliament.

She believed that so much more could be done for Syria especially on humanitarian level. And she was troubled, she was troubled for the people

who are still stuck in Syria, and the fund that's ends up in her name now actually partly helps fund ...

GORANI: What's that URL, if you could share that.

AL-ORAIBI: So it's gofund, the fundraising ...

GORANI: Gofundme.

AL-ORAIBI: Gofundme/jocox, so it's very simple, Jo Cox. It raised a 100,000 in only four hours.

For Mina Al-Oraibi, thanks very much, we really appreciate your time.

We have more coverage of the death of the British M.P. to come. We'll take you live to Birstall where our own Richard Quest has engaging the somber

mood there. Latest on the investigation, and the suspect as well coming up. Stay with us on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END