Snipers appeared to have been stationed on buildings during Liverpool football parade where driver ploughed into crowds
Snipers appeared to have been stationed on top of a building during Liverpool's parade through the city yesterday.
Unverified footage circulating on social media appears to show two police marksmen stationed on the Queensway Tunnel Ventilation Tower building overlooking The Strand.
In the clip they are looking towards the Grade I-listed Royal Liver Building with a thinly dispersed crowd below.
It is not known if any police snipers were deployed before or after the horror unfolded on the adjacent jam-packed Water Street where a Ford Galaxy had mowed down Liverpool fans and injured 47 people.
Merseyside Police said it was unable to comment on the footage, but a police source told MailOnline it was standard procedure to have armed officers at large events.
At a press conference this afternoon the force confirmed officers with guns had been at the event.
The force deployed snipers in 2023 when the city hosted Eurovision, and armed police in 2017 patrolled Aintree for the first time as part of a 'ring of steel' to protect punters going to the Grand National.
Security expert Lee Doddridge told Sky News this morning that police had used 'totally the wrong tactic'.
He said: 'The immediate thought for me was how was a vehicle allowed to be among so many people?
'I've got to say it is just alarming that a vehicle was allowed to be so close. You allow for emergency service vehicles, it really doesn't matter at this point what the motive was, we know it wasn't terrorism, but really, a vehicle should not have been allowed anywhere near those celebrations.'
Mr Doddridge added: 'One of the images shown last night were police snipers on rooftops as if they were covering the crowd. Totally the wrong tactic. If they had focused more on preventing vehicles getting in they could have prevented this incident.
'I say could have prevent it because that's exactly what you do when you do it correctly. I do think it places a massive liability on Merseyside Police for not getting this right.'
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims has said it is believed that the car was able to follow an ambulance.
She told a press conference at Merseyside Police headquarters: 'It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance onto Water Street after the road block was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack.
'As with many large events, with event organisers we planned for all contingencies and this included the implementation of road closures to protect pedestrians and an armed policing presence was also in place throughout the day.
'There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place, and as we previously stated, the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
'An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing and we continue to ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and refrain from sharing distressing content online.'
King Charles today said he was 'deeply shocked and saddened' by the crash during Liverpool's Premier League title parade.
The 76-year-old monarch said: 'I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.'
Up to one million Liverpool fans had jubilantly gathered to celebrate the club winning the Premier League title with a 10-mile trophy parade through the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday.
But in another alarming reminder of how vehicles can be used as a weapon, the celebratory scenes soon descended into a day of horror as a people carrier veered into crowds on Water Street just after 6pm, leaving at least 47 injured.
A total of 27 people have been taken to hospital following the horrific incident, including four children. One child was trapped under the car with three adults when firefighters arrived to save them.
Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram confirmed this morning there are 'still four people who are very, very ill in hospital'. The other 20 casualties were treated at the scene
Jack Trotter, one of the victims who was rushed to hospital, said he remains in 'agony' after being discharged and described it as 'the most horrifying incident I've ever experienced in my life'.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the whole country 'stands with Liverpool', describing the incident as 'scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation'.
In what has been described as an 'unprecedented' move, Merseyside Police quickly confirmed a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested, adding that he is believed to have been the driver and it wasn't being treated as terrorism.
It comes after the same police force was criticised over the Southport murders last summer after riots engulfed Britain over false rumours the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker.
But the force has come under fire from security experts and witnesses who have today told of their shock that Water Street, a busy road packed with fans, was accessible to the people carrier and ultimately led to the scenes of chaos.
A forensics officer places an item into an evidence bag at the scene where a car collided with people during the Liverpool FC trophy parade -- May 27, 2025
Charlotte Hennessy, whose father died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, said questions need to be asked about how the driver was able to access a 'road which should have been closed'.
Footage appears to show the grey Ford Galaxy struggling to make its way along Dale Street, the main business thoroughfare in the city, while hundreds of fans were still on the street.
Some could be seen banging on the car's rear and back window, before the vehicle quickly reversed and went forward, seemingly antagonising supporters.
The parade bus had passed along The Strand, the main road along the famous waterfront which was closed to traffic, just moments earlier. But Water Street, which runs off it, was packed with people walking into the city to catch trains, buses and taxis home.
Later footage seemingly showed that, by the time the car reached the end of Dale Street and entered Water Street, its back window had been smashed. The driver then went on the rampage and ploughed into the crowds.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims last night told a press conference that there were 'robust' traffic management measures in place for the parade, however it was unclear whether Dale Street or Water Street were officially closed to vehicles.
Neither were advertised as being part of 'fixed' closures before the event although 'rolling' road closures were anticipated along the route.
It is understood that Water Street was closed to traffic as part of a rolling road block as the parade reached the city centre.
A source told the Mail that there were bollards at the top of the road, at the junction of Dale Street close to the Town Hall, but these were moved to allow an ambulance to get through and the driver 'tailgated' the emergency vehicle to access Water Street.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer warns of ‘risk of escalation' following US strikes against Iran
Sir Keir Starmer warned there was a risk of the Middle East crisis spiralling beyond the region after Donald Trump ordered US planes and submarines to attack Iran's nuclear programme. The Prime Minister urged all sides to return to negotiations but said he had taken 'all necessary measures' to protect British interests in the region if the conflict escalates. There was no British involvement in the action but the Government was informed before the US strikes. Tehran has threatened to retaliate and Mr Trump has warned of further US action if necessary, saying: 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran.' Speaking at his Chequers country retreat, the Prime Minister said there was a 'risk of escalation' adding: 'That's a risk to the region. It's a risk beyond the region, and that's why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme. 'In relation to the UK, we were not involved in the attack. We were given due notice, as we would expect, as close allies to the US, and we have been moving assets to the region to make sure we're in a position to protect our own interests, our personnel and our assets, and, of course, those of our allies.' The US action comes just days after Sir Keir, who attended the G7 summit in Canada with Mr Trump, said on Tuesday there was 'nothing' from the president to suggest he was about to get involved in the conflict. Mr Trump pushed ahead with the action anyway, which he claimed had 'completely and fully obliterated' key nuclear facilities. Asked if he had been left looking foolish by the UK's closest ally ignoring his calls for de-escalation and pushing ahead with military strikes, the Prime Minister said: 'It's clearly a fast-moving situation and there's been a huge amount of discussion in the days since the G7 ended.' The Prime Minister sought to dodge questions about whether the UK could get dragged into the conflict if Iran targeted the bases of the US, a Nato ally. 'I'm not going to speculate about what may happen, because all of my focus is on de-escalation,' he said. 'But I do want to reassure the public we have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well.' Extra RAF Typhoon jets have already been moved to the region and Defence Secretary John Healey said 'force protection is at its highest level' following the US strikes. Sir Keir will chair a meeting of the Government's Cobra crisis committee on Sunday afternoon and has held a series of calls with world leaders. The US attacked Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz which are linked to Iran's nuclear programme. The Tehran regime has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful but its uranium enrichment process has gone far beyond what is required for power stations. The strikes followed a build-up of US military equipment, with B-2 stealth bombers – which are the only aircraft to carry a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb – reportedly used to target the underground facilities. The aircraft have previously used the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands, but it is understood that was not involved in these strikes. The attack on Iran also involved US submarines, which launched around 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'By targeting Iran's nuclear sites, the US has taken decisive action against a regime that fuels global terror and directly threatens the UK. 'Iranian operatives have plotted murders and attacks on British soil. We should stand firmly with the US and Israel.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also backed Mr Trump's decision to strike Iran. He said: 'Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons, the future of Israel depends on it.' Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said 'robust diplomacy' was now needed to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat, adding: 'Following the US strikes, it is essential that we work to de-escalate the conflict and achieve that diplomatic solution.' Scotland's First Minister John Swinney called for diplomacy, saying the Middle East conflict has reached 'an alarmingly greater level of danger after the US attacks on Iran'. Iran launched a ballistic missile barrage against Israel in retaliation to the US action. The foreign ministry in Tehran issued a statement condemning 'the United States' brutal military aggression against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities'. It added: 'The Islamic Republic of Iran is resolved to defend Iran's territory, sovereignty, security and people by all force and means against the United States' criminal aggression.' Mr Trump said any retaliation would be met with 'force far greater' than that used in the initial strikes.
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
PSNI: Extra £200m funding could be "gamechanger' says Naomi Long
The expected allocation of an extra £200m for the Police Service of Northern Ireland could be a "gamechanger" for the organisation, the justice minister has said. Naomi Long said it would "allow us to rebuild police numbers which is the most important thing we can do".In January, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it needed £200m over five years to recruit hundreds of new officers and bring its headcount to 7,000. On Friday, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the finance minister was "very happy to sign that off" but added his recommendation must be approved by the Executive. The PSNI is seeking to increase its workforce from its current all-time low of about 6,200 officers to 7,000 to the BBC's Sunday Politics programme, Long said she had been working on the business case for some time and agreed real progress had been made. "I think this is potentially a gamechanger for us in terms of being able to rebuild".Long pointed out the PSNI currently has a £20m gap in its budget because of pressures like overtime and said recruiting more officers could fix that issue. "If you have a right-sized force you can actually reduce the amount of overtime individuals are working and make some savings there," she explained. "So I think this a really good opportunity to put the PSNI on a sustainable footing."The justice minister said the recruitment investment would improve public safety and also allow officers to "get their rest days" and "look after their health".She added funding was necessary to stop officers leaving their jobs "because they are under such personal strain as a result of having to work extended hours". Rioting pressures for police The recent rioting in Northern Ireland exposed the pressure the PSNI is facing with its current workforce responded to several consecutive nights of violent disorder which began two weeks ago in Ballymena, County Antrim, and spread to other towns and cities. The violence started on Monday 9 June, hours after two teenage boys appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in two 14-year-old boys spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages and their solicitor said they would be denying the charges.A peaceful protest was held in Ballymena later that day, but after that demonstration dispersed, rioting broke the course of the next few days, 64 officers were injured while policing disorder in Ballymena, Larne, Portadown, Belfast and Londonderry. The PSNI sought support from Police Scotland, which deployed officers to Northern Ireland under what is known as mutual aid arrangements. Long also requested and received an additional £5m from the Northern Ireland Executive to meet the costs of policing the riots. She said the riots were a "drain on the resources of PSNI". "I put in a bid very early during the riots in Ballymena for additional resources for PSNI because we knew that they may need to call on mutual aid. "That's £5m to police those riots and most of that £5m, if not all of it, will have already been spent."The minister explained the PSNI needs £7m to cover its first year of recruitment under its business case and the rioting bill would have been better spent on that. "It's hugely frustrating at a time when our justice system is so stretched that we have people not just putting pressure on the resources of the PSNI, but destroying their own communities at a cost to everyone in our society because that will all have to be repaired and rebuilt." Last month, the Police Federation said that the PSNI had been told Stormont could not find the money for a £200m plan to increase officer Chief Constable, Jon Boutcher, said the "consequences of not getting the PSNI back on its feet will be dire".At that time, Long criticised the Police Federation remarks as "inaccurate and extremely unhelpful".
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
More than 1,000 migrants cross Channel in small boats over two days
More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK over two days having crossed the Channel in small boats, according to Home Office figures. Home Office statistics say 437 people made the crossing on Friday, June 20, in seven boats while on Saturday a further 583 crossed in eight boats bringing the total for the two days to 1,020. This brings the total so far this week to 2,083 and the total for the year so far to 18,400. This compares to 12,644 by the same date in 2024, 10,601 in 2023 and 11,739 in 2022. The latest arrivals come despite the French appearing to take a tougher stance on their beaches. Also Sir Keir Starmer said this week that the situation was 'deteriorating' and threatened a visa crackdown. The Prime Minister signalled that countries which did not do enough to tackle the irregular migration crisis, for example by taking back failed asylum seekers, could face repercussions in the numbers of visas issued to their citizens. Sir Keir's message came as French police were seen to employ more robust tactics on the beaches this week including using teargas. But they were also seen to stand by and watch once migrants had entered the water to board a dinghy in the hope of crossing the English Channel.
