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Man who tried to prevent Jo Cox murder dies a year later

By Danielle Haynes
Police officers and crime scene investigators attend the scene where British MP Jo Cox was killed, in Birstall, Britain, June 16, 2016. A man who tried to save her in the attack, Bernard Kenny, died Monday. File Photo by Jon Super/EPA
Police officers and crime scene investigators attend the scene where British MP Jo Cox was killed, in Birstall, Britain, June 16, 2016. A man who tried to save her in the attack, Bernard Kenny, died Monday. File Photo by Jon Super/EPA

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Bernard Kenny, the man who tried to prevent the deadly attack on British MP Jo Cox in July 2016, died Monday, his son announced.

Phil Kenny didn't reveal the cause of his father's death, but the 78-year-old, who was stabbed in the abdomen during the attack, never fully recovered from his injuries.

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Bernard Kenny was nearby in Birstall, West Yorkshire, when Thomas Mair, a right-wing extremist, attacked and killed Cox, the MP for Batley and Spent. Mair stabbed Cox 15 times and shot her three times.

Bernard Kenny tried to intervene, and Mair stabbed him once with a 10-inch blade.

The government awarded Bernard Kenny the George Medal for his bravery. He said he was "honored to receive such an award."

Bernard Kenny worked as a miner for 40 years and was a member of the Gomersal Mines Rescue team.

Tracey Brabin, who was elected to replace Cox as MP after her death, said Bernard Kenny was "brave and selfless."

"Bernard will forever be remembered as a true hero, both as a member of the Miners' Rescue Team and as a constituent of Batley and Spen who risked his life to protect Jo Cox," she said.

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