New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says Christchurch gunman deserves lifetime of 'utter silence'

Jacinda Ardern. Credits: AP/PTI

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the life sentence for the Christchurch mosque gunman on Thursday, saying he deserved a lifetime of "complete and utter silence".

"The trauma of March 15 is not easily healed but today I hope is the last where we have any cause to hear or utter the name of the terrorist behind it," said Ardern, who was widely praised for her response to the attacks last year that killed 51 Muslim worshippers.

"His deserves to be a lifetime of complete and utter silence."