Husband of slain MP Jo Cox quits charities after misconduct claims

The husband of murdered British MP Jo Cox has stepped down from two charities created in her memory, following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Brendan Cox said on Twitter he had resigned from the organisations More in Common and the Jo Cox Foundation last week.

He was accused in the Mail on Sunday of assaulting a woman at Harvard University in 2015. He has denied the claims of assault, but admitted making mistakes in a previous role with the charity Save the Children, where a co-worker accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

"I apologise to people I offended or upset at the time. My actions were never malicious but they were at times inappropriate," Cox tweeted.

"I take responsibility for my actions and will hold myself to a higher standard in the future."

In a separate statement , Save the Children said that it suspended Cox in 2015 and investigated the claims made against him, but that he had resigned before the inquiry was completed.

The claims emerged after Oxfam issued its own apology over a sex scandal involving aid workers in Haiti.

After his wife was murdered a week before the June 2016 Brexit referendum, Brendan Cox had sought to continue her advocacy work while raising their two children.

"This is another very difficult day for our family. The last 20 months have been a constant rollercoaster of emotions which we are still dealing with on a daily basis," Jo's sister Kim Leadbeater said in a statement published by the Jo Cox Foundation.

"As a family we will support Brendan as he endeavours to do the right thing by admitting mistakes he may have made in the past, and we respect him for doing so. We all make mistakes. Brendan is a wonderful father and I have no doubt about the happiness he brought to Jo."