PM attacks ‘public sympathy’ for killer Moat
By Ian Dunt
David Cameron has hit out at the “wave of public sympathy” for Raoul Moat, the killer whose one-week chase from the police ended in his death this weekend.
Asked about a Facebook page in which several members of the public had criticised the police for the six-hour siege which ended in Moat’s death, Mr Cameron said he was a “callous murderer”.
“I cannot understand any wave of sympathy for him,” the prime minister added.
“Raoul Moat was a callous murderer, full stop, end of story… there should be no sympathy for him.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has already begun an inquest into the death of Moat, and in particular the use of tasers against the man, as he sat with a gun pressed to his head in the rain.
The week-long chase which preceded his death, and the manner in which the arrest failed, has led to some people expressing sympathy for the fugitive.
Flowers have been left at the spot where he died and tourists are beginning to travel to the spot to have their photo taken.
But many commentators have been dismayed with the reaction to the death of the 37-year-old, who shot three people: his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, her new partner Chris Brown, and a police officer, David Rathband.
Mr Brown was killed while Ms Stobbart and Mr Rathband remain hospitalised.
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