Nicola Sturgeon and Kezia Dugdale join hundreds at Glasgow vigil for Jo Cox
Nicola Sturgeon and Kezia Dugdale embraced as they joined hundreds of people to pay their respects to Jo Cox at a vigil in Glasgow.
The First Minister and Scottish Labour leader arrived at the event in George Square together and carried flowers to lay beside a picture of the Labour MP.
The political rivals later hugged after paying tribute to Ms Cox.
The vigil started with a minute's silence among the 300-strong crowd and a book of condolence was opened for people to pay their respects.
Many current and former Labour politicians, including Douglas Alexander and Anas Sarwar, were in attendance along with a large contingent of SNP MPs and MSPs.
The crowd applauded as Ms Sturgeon and Ms Dugdale were the first to lay flowers in George Square along with Conservative MSP Annie Wells.
Ms Dugdale was first to speak at the event and said: ''Jo Cox was the very definition of a moral crusader, wrapped up in humour and love. She believed fundamentally in the right of everyone on this earth to live in peace, of justice, and of prosperity. Her tragic loss is a reminder of how fragile and precious our democracy is. She was also a feminist and a passionate advocate for woman's rights, and chair of Labour Woman's Network for four years, an organisation set up to help more women get elected to parliament. There's a famous Madeleine Albright quote, former Secretary of State for the United States of America. She said, 'There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women. And if that were true, there's a golden seat in heaven for Jo Cox. She didn't just break down the structural inequalities that woman face, but she put in the time, lots of coffees and conversations, to help women take that final leap. Her tragic loss is a reminder of how fragile and precious our democracy is.''
Ms Sturgeon embraced the Scottish Labour leader before the First Minister took to the podium to pay tribute.
She said: ''I didn't know Jo personally, but given everything I've read over the past 24 hours, I'm deeply sorry that I didn't have the opportunity to know her because she clearly was an inspiration to everybody whose lives she touched. In so many ways she is what all of us would want our politicians to be - somebody who was in politics to make a difference and do good for people.''
A similar event was held in Edinburgh attended by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Labour MP Ian Murray.