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8 Jul 2010

Raoul Moat: police move to reassure public

Northumbria Police have held a “reassurance forum” to address fears about gunman Raoul Moat. But with news of a “wider threat”, Channel 4 News reporter Darshan Soni asks: how reassuring was it?


They called it a “reassurance forum”. But how reassuring was it?

Sue Sim, the acting chief constable of Northumbria Police, came to a public meeting in Rothbury this evening to address the concerns of residents.

Up until now, people here have been told to carry on as normal, which on the whole they have. The police message has been that Raoul Moat’s main grievance was directed at specific targets.

But now detectives say there’s a wider threat to the public, and the public simply wanted to know: what does that mean?

Inside, there was standing room only. The chief constable explained that for operational reasons, the force could not elaborate on the threat.

This raised a huge response. Did this mean everyone in the room was a potential target? Ms Sim said: “There is no direct threat against the people of Rothbury, but there may be a direct threat against the wider public.”

More Channel 4 News coverage of the hunt for Raoul Moat
- Hunt for Moat: police request military advice
- Exclusive: police write letter to Raoul Moat
- McNab: police push Raoul Moat to 'capture area'

The questioning went on for over an hour. An elderly gentleman asked if he could carry on walking his dogs in the woods, but was advised not to in case he came across firearms officers who didn’t know who he was.

There were a few smiles when a young boy asked if Moat had ever been in Rothbury at all.

Another said that it doesn’t take very long to walk two miles, and so Moat could have been long gone – perhaps the search area should be widened, he said.

A woman asked about rumours that the suspected gunman had broken into a barn to steal ammunition, but the police refused to comment.

The media came in for some criticism, with several people asking why there were so many camera crews in the village.

Ms Sims was asked about the amount of resources being put into the search. She said that it wasn’t true that the SAS were helping. The hunt will go on for as long as it takes, she said, no matter the cost involved.

A couple then got up to leave, telling me they had to go and put their tea on. We’ll have to carry on as usual, they said, we’ve got no choice.