Jo Cox memorial bike ride joined by record number of women

Cyclists set off from the Princess Mary Athletics Stadium in Cleckheaton on Wednesday morning

The parents of murdered MP Jo Cox have said she would be "so pleased" at the record number of women taking part in a bike ride to London in her memory.

The Batley and Spen MP was killed in Birstall on 16 June 2016. Thomas Mair was later convicted of her murder.

Organisers said 31 of around 80 riders taking part in this year's 288-mile (463 km) Jo Cox Way ride were women.

The riders set off from Cleckheaton on Wednesday morning and are due to arrive in London on Sunday.

The event is now in its eighth year and supported good causes which were important to the Labour MP, its organisers said.

The Jo Cox Way event was started in 2016

Mrs Cox's parents, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater, said: "We are absolutely delighted so many people from so many different backgrounds are making such an amazing effort to remember Jo.

"She'd be so pleased so many women, of all ages, are getting on their bikes.

"The ride showcases Jo's values of fairness and respect. It's really important for our family because it shows what an impact Jo had, and still has, on different individuals and communities," they added.

Mrs Cox's parents said their daughter would be "so pleased" at the record number of women taking part

Mrs Cox's sister, Kim Leadbeater, who was elected to represent her sister's old seat in a 2021 by-election, has taken part in every ride since 2016.

Ms Leadbeater said: "Cycling has enormous physical and mental health benefits and also helps combat loneliness and isolation - causes Jo was passionate about.

"The Jo Cox Way ride is a great chance to meet and talk to people from different backgrounds, and it's brilliant that cyclists are joining together yet again to celebrate the fact we have 'far more in common than that which divides us' - as Jo said in her maiden speech in Parliament."

The Jo Cox Way was started in 2016 by North Yorkshire businessman and keen cyclist Sarfraz Mian, just a few weeks after Mrs Cox's murder.