Raoul Moat's alleged accomplices in court on conspiracy charges

Two alleged accomplices of gunman Raoul Moat appeared before a crown court today via video link to face charges of conspiracy to murder. Karl Ness, 26, of Dudley, North Tyneside, and Qhuram Awan, 23, of Blyth, Northumberland, are accused of helping the former nightclub bouncer target police officers. The pair are alleged to have been with him when he shot his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, who survived, and fatally injured her boyfriend, Chris Brown, in Birtley, Gateshead, this month. Both men are also charged with obtaining a sawn-off shotgun for Moat before he was released from Durham prison and providing him with supplies while he was on the run. The defendants were told during a brief hearing at Newcastle crown court they would face trial early in 2011 before a high court judge, with a provisional trial date set for January 24. A plea and case management hearing will take place on November 1. Kingsley Hyland, prosecuting, asked for a four-week trial and added: "There's a real possibility of further defendants being charged." Moat was eventually cornered in the village of Rothbury, Northumberland, where he was involved in a six-hour standoff with police before he apparently shot himself and was twice shot with the controversial Xrep Tasers. Ness and Awan were arrested in Rothbury four days after Moat went on the run. No pleas were entered and the judge, Mr Justice Simon, remanded them both in custody until their next court appearance. Yesterday it emerged that the survival expert Ray Mears had been brought in by police to help them during the seven-day search for Moat. A Northumbria police spokeswoman confirmed the extraordinary news that Mears had been involved in the manhunt but refused to elaborate. "We can confirm Ray Mears did assist in this investigation, as did several other agencies and specialists," she said. Mears, a 46-year-old TV presenter and author of the Outdoor Survival Handbook, helped track Moat's movements after he fled his makeshift camp near the village of Rothbury, and after the gunman declared "war" on police in a rambling letter. The injured police constable, David Rathband, left hospital yesterday after 17 days of treatment. He has been blinded in both eyes but is determined to return to work. Moat's family have insisted on a second postmortem examination as the first did not mention anything about marks left by the Tasers.