Cumbria pays its last respects

Cabbies blew their horns yesterday to salute one of the victims of Derrick Bird, who shot 12 people dead last week in Cumbria.

Mourners wept as the note sounded after a memorial service for the dead at St Nicholas Church Gardens, just metres from where Mr Rewcastle was shot in Whitehaven. Firearm experts will launch three inquiries to find out how Bird was awarded licences to own the shotgun and the .22 rifle he used in the shootings, as well as the strength of the police response.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission accepted Cumbria Constabulary's decision not to refer the incident to it for investigation.