According to the media reports, British Premier David Cameron's battle with social networking site Facebook over a page that glorified a dead killer has prompted a debate on free speech on the Internet.

It had been reported that "R. I. P. Raoul Moat You Legend" was the title of a now taken-down page on Facebook that had attracted nearly 40,000 fans. Moat, a former bouncer addicted to steroids and apparently madly in love, last week shot his ex-girlfriend, killer her new lover and seriously injured a police officer. After having vowed to fight authorities until the end, Moat killed himself after British police had staged one of the largest manhunts in recent history.

Cameron, who after his election chatted with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, turned against the social networking site when it refused to shut down the Moat support page.

Cameron told the House of Commons on Wednesday, "I cannot understand any wave, however small, of public sympathy for this man. It is absolutely clear that Raoul Moat was a callous murderer, full stop, end of story."

It forwarded the comments to Facebook, but the company, refused to shut down the page, arguing its supporters are not inciting hatred, Cameron's office has said.

The company said in a statement, "Facebook is a place where people can express their views and discuss things in an open way as they can and do in many other places, and as such we sometimes find people discussing topics others may find distasteful. However that is not a reason in itself to stop a debate from happening." (With Inputs from Agencies)