Former British soldier in court to face Liverpool car-ramming charges
May 30 (UPI) -- The man charged with ramming a vehicle into a crowd at a cup victory parade for Liverpool Football Club and injuring 79 peopel appeared in court on Friday.
Prosecutor Philip Astbury said it was the prosecution's case that 53-year-old Paul Doyle, a former Royal Marine and now a businessman, "deliberately drove" into the crowd in Liverpool city center as people were leaving at the end of the parade.
Astbury asked that Doyle, who is from the West Derby area of Liverpool, not be granted bail for his own safety.
Doyle faces seven counts related to Monday's incident involving six victims, two of them children, including two wounding with intent charges, two grievous bodily harm with intent charges, two attempted grievous bodily harm with intent charges and a single dangerous driving charge.
Doyle spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth and did not enter a plea.
District Judge Paul Healey remanded the married father of three in custody, telling him that his case was being sent to Liverpool Crown Court, where he would have to reappear later Friday.
Counsel for Doyle, Richard Derby, did not apply for bail.
Doyle has been in police detention since being arrested after a car collided with Liverpool city center, where hundreds of thousands of fans had gathered to celebrate Liverpool FC's Premier League victory, but was only charged on Thursday afternoon.
Seven of those injured remain in area hospitals.
Merseyside Police said the incident remained the subject of an ongoing, active investigation with officers sifting through a large volume of digital evidence, while the Crown Prosecution Service said it was keeping the charges "under review" as the investigation progressed.
However, Mersey-Cheshire Chief Crown Prosecutor Sarah Hammond appealed for the public and media to refrain from speculation or sharing information that could derail the prosecution's case or fair justice for the accused.
"We know Monday's shocking scenes reverberated around the city of Liverpool, and the entire country, on what should have been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands of Liverpool FC supporters. Our thoughts remain with all those affected," Hammond said.
"Criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and he has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information or media online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
Doyle's social media states that he served for four years as a commando in the Royal Marine Corps, an amphibious special operations unit of the Royal Navy, between 1990 and 1994.
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