British MP Jo Cox, who was shot dead in the street last week, died because of her strong political views, her husband said today.

Cox, a supporter of Britain's European Union membership who had also campaigned for Britain to do more to help refugees, was shot and stabbed in her northern English electoral district by a man heard shouting "Britain first".

"She had very strong political views and I believe she was killed because of those views," her husband Brendan Cox told broadcasters.

He added: "She was particularly worried about the direction of, not just of in the UK but globally, ... of politics at the moment, particularly around creating division and playing on people's worst fears rather than their best instincts."

The murder of Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children, has shocked Britain, elicited condolences from leaders around the world and raised questions about the tone of campaigning before Britain's referendum on EU membership which takes place on Thursday.