Animal fanatic 'confesses' to killing Fortuyn

An animal rights fanatic charged with murdering Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is said to have confessed to the shooting.

It's the first statement made by 33-year-old Volkert van der Graaf since his arrest minutes after the shooting last May.

He said he had been concerned that Mr Fortuyn was gaining too much power and posed a threat to "vulnerable members of society".

Prosecutors also say he was worried about his "prejudiced political ideas" and their possible polarising effect in the Netherlands.

Van der Graaf said he had acted alone and that no-one else knew he intended to kill Mr Fortuyn, then a leading candidate in national elections and a potential prime minister.

He was captured after a brief chase near the car park where Mr Fortuyn was shot.

Prosecutors say Van der Graaf told them he "saw no other way to stop the threat Fortuyn posed other than to kill him".

Until now, Van der Graaf refused to give a statement to investigators, neither admitting nor denying the shooting.

He went on a hunger strike for more than two months after he was put under round-the-clock suicide watch.

Earlier this month, judges hearing the Fortuyn case ordered that van der Graaf be admitted to hospital for psychiatric observation.