The man arrested following the brutal killing of Labour MP Jo Cox has attended mental health services and received “psychotherapy and medication”, Breitbart London can reveal.
A 52-year-old man has been arrested, West Yorkshire Police confirmed. He has been named locally as Thomas Mair and described as a “loner” by neighbours.
They said he had mental health problems, but was kind and helpful and did not belong “to any political party and I never heard him express any views about Europe or anything…”
A 2010 report in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner (archived in Free Library) said that he had attended Pathways Day Centre for adults with mental health problems in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
He said the service was better that “psychotherapy and medication” – implying he had received both treatments before.
Pathways Day Services is “a team that offers support to people experiencing mental health difficulties”, helping them “overcome barriers such as low mood, social anxiety, reduced confidence, or lack of motivation”.
He said: “I can honestly say it has done me more good than all the psychotherapy and medication in the world.
“Many people who suffer from mental illness are socially isolated and disconnected from society, feelings of worthlessness are also common mainly caused by long-term unemployment.
“All these problems are alleviated by doing voluntary work.
“Getting out of the house and meeting new people is a good thing, but more important in my view is doing physically demanding and useful labour.
“When you have finished there is a feeling of achievement which is emotionally rewarding and psychologically fulfilling.
“For people for whom full-time, paid employment is not possible for a variety of reasons, voluntary work offers a socially positive and therapeutic alternative.”
Neighbour Kathleen Cooke, 62, told the Telegraph that Mr. Mair had lived in the same house for 40 years with his grandmother until she died about 20 years ago. Since then he has lived on his own and has never had any full-time employment.
She added: “He has lived here for 40 years and has never been in any trouble and has never caused any trouble.
“He sometimes used to shout at the local kids if they played too near his house but that is fairly normal.
“I don’t think he belonged to any political party and I never heard him express any views about Europe or anything like that. To us, he was just Tommy, a local bloke we all knew.”
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