Biker gun attack was 'well-planned'

Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence of Warwickshire Police said there was nothing in Gerard Tobin's past to indicate why anyone would want to murder him.

Mr Lawrence, the man leading the murder hunt, said the shooting appeared to have been well-planned rather than a random attack.

Mr Tobin, 35, a Canadian national living in south London, was shot dead on Sunday as he returned home from a bikers' festival.

Mr Lawrence said: "It seems likely that this was a pre-planned event and this was not a random attack on Gerard. The reason why it should be planned and took place I don't know. That is clearly a key line of investigation that we are pursuing.

"There were other motorcyclists travelling on that motorway at that time, both leaving the Bulldog Bash and others, and it seems that Gerard Tobin was quite clearly the intended victim."

He said formal identification was taking place but he was satisfied the victim was Mr Tobin, who was originally from Canada but had been living in Britain for at least 10 years.

Mr Lawrence continued: "Mr Tobin was a hard-working man. He had a job and a partner. He was a man of good character. He has not come to the attention of the police in any way.

"He was employed as a mechanic and, of course, this incident has caused considerable trauma to his family both here and in Canada and, of course, to his partner."

Police were not aware of any incidents at the Bulldog Bash on Sunday that could have given rise to "this kind of drastic consequence", he added.