I just find it offensive to suggest that someone who has lost his wife to extremism has extremist links. I thought that was enough justification. If you do not, fair enough, but I am not on my own nor, I suspect, are you.

If I may use an folk based illustration. I used to black up to play various roles in the Abram Pace Egg play. Some people said it was offensive and I argued for a long time that it was not. Then I had an epiphany about it. If someone genuinely finds something offensive then, to them. it is. If it is offensive and there is a perfectly viable alternative, then it should stop.

From the Huffington transcript you provided -

"Yes well of course he would know more about extremists than me, Mr Cox.
"He backs organisations like Hope not Hate who masquerade as being lovely and peaceful but actually pursue violent and very undemocratic means.

That is offensive in the extreme. It is, ultimately, suggesting that by supporting extremist organisations, Brendan Cox was somehow culpable in the murder of his own wife. I find it sickening. You may disagree. Not a good measure of whether I am right or wrong, I know, but I think you will find I am with the majority.

DtG