Heartfelt words from Fabian Picardo on the events of June 16

EWN

Fabian Picardo in his office at No 6 Convent Place

THE following message appeared on the Facebook page of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo with regards to the visit of David Cameron and the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox on June 16.

“My dear fellow Gibraltarians, last night was a night of excitement and hope. We looked forward together to the arrival of a Prime Minister to Gibraltar for the first time in almost 50 years. Tonight, we grieve with all the Great British Family the loss of a kind, gentle and committed Member of Parliament.

So many of you went out of your way today to make David Cameron’s visit a success. From the organisers, to the technicians, media, campaign officials and the public who came out to see the PM at Casemates. To all of you: thank you for your hard work and thank you for your patience and understanding.

Our thoughts tonight are not of excitement, they are of sorrow and incomprehension at a tragedy that leaves two children without their mother, a husband without a wife.

It is absolutely right that the respective campaigns have been suspended. It was therefore right that the Prime Minister as Leader of the House of Commons should not have campaigned in Gibraltar today. Fate meant he came and left without addressing crowds, but his actions and your respectful reactions to the unexpected cancellation spoke for all of us to the world in the dignified British way which characterises the United Kingdom and Gibraltar.

There will be time for campaigning and for visits and for all the rest of the things that seem to matter so much until they are compared to the things that really, really deeply matter – like life and family.

So thank you all for your dignity and your compassion. It is that which we invoke to honour Jo Cox MP, someone we may not have heard of before but who is now, forever, part of our history too.”

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