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Shipman song sparks outrage across Manchester

13/07/2007

Convicted paedophile and former pop mogul Jonathan King has come under attack from Greater Manchester residents after he wrote a song about serial killer Harold Shipman.

The song not only claims that Shipman was a victim of the media but suggests that his patients wanted to die.

He has also posted a video of the song, entitled The True Story of Harold Shipman, which includes a montage of the murderer's victims, on YouTube.

King, who was released from prison in 2005 after serving half of a seven-year term for abusing underage boys, said the song is about how the media and the police deliberately exaggerate claims in order to increase newspaper circulation and secure convictions.

Barry Swann, whose 79-year-old mother Bessie was killed by the GP at her home in Hyde, has described the song as "sensationalist rubbish".

And James Purnell, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, said the song was "grossly offensive".

"What is clear is that this is a pathetic attempt by Jonathan King to create controversy in order to generate publicity for himself," he added.

Shipman committed suicide in 2004, while serving life sentences for 15 murders, although it is suspected that he killed as many as 260 patients.



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