MP Jo Cox has been shot and stabbed

Labour party MP Jo Cox has been shot and stabbed near the northern city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, according to various reports. A huge police operation is underway in the area.

The BBC is reporting that the Labour MP was holding a surgery at Birstall library before she was shot twice and stabbed. A man is also thought to have been stabbed. 

She was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary. Armed police are said to be outside the hospital. An eyewitness told Sky News that Cox was left lying bleeding on the pavement after the incident.

A 52 year old man has since been arrested, according to Sky News. 

This follows an eyewitness report given to the BBC that said that Cox was attacked after becoming involved in an altercation between two men. 

Another witness told Sky that a man in white, dirty baseball cap had been jostling with the MP before pulling out a gun. The gun was "homemade," according to multiple reports. 

Sky is also reporting that the attacker shouted "Britan First!" before the attack. Britain First is the name of a far-right political party. 

"There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag," an eyewitness told the BBC.

Sky adds that the incident took place around 1300 p.m local time. Fellow MPs are reportedly unsure if Cox will survive. 

A man is currently lying in the road and a police helicopter is hovering overhead, according to reports cited by The Daily Mirror. 

Cox is a 40 year old mother of two who won her seat in parliament in the 2015 general election. 

West Yorkshire Police said in a tweet: "We are aware of a serious incident ongoing in Birstall. Details will be released in the press in due course."

Witness Daniel Blyth, 38, a company director from Birstall, told the Yorkshire Post: "I saw seven police cars racing up Leeds Road towards Morley. They were unmarked BMWs.

"There are two helicopters flying overhead.

"It all seems very dramatic. I have heard that two people have been shot but I'm not who are why. It's all very unusual for Birstall."

Cox has received threats in the past for her criticism of current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to Sky. However, the reason for the attack has not yet been established. 

This a developing story...