Be careful the words we use

There have been lots of words used to describe Raoul Moat over the last few days - and some of the strongest were by our Prime Minister. While I think what Raoul did was utterly horrendous, and I can't understand why some members of the public are treating him like a hero, I do think we have to be very careful about the words we use to describe him.

Because, despite all he has done, he is still someone's son and someone's brother and he is still the father of his ex partner's children. I can not begin to imagine what it must be like to come to terms with he did if he was a member of my family. But having to come to terms with it in the public eye, with so many nasty words used to describe him must be simply awful. I believe we must let them grieve the loss of their family member in private. The police need to carry out their investigation, but lets not add to their pain by the language we use.