Comedian's show cancelled over Liverpool parade crash joke
A comedian's show has been cancelled after he joked about Monday's Liverpool parade crash in an X post.
Andrew Lawrence, 37, said he would 'drive through crowds of people' to get out of the city, just a day after 65 people were injured when a Ford Galaxy ploughed into onlookers at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade.
He wrote on X: 'To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the f--- out of there as well.'
Video footage of the attack showed the Ford Galaxy being driven at speed through supporters on Water Street, with people flung across the bonnet for 200 yards before some were crushed under its wheels when it came to a halt.
The driver, a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area, was arrested at the scene.
On Wednesday, Caddies, a Southend-on-Sea comedy club, announced that Mr Lawrence's performance had been cancelled in the wake of his social media post, which it said it did not 'condone or support'.
Posting on X, the venue wrote: 'The event organisers who had hired our comedy club for the Andrew Lawrence night have cancelled the event.
'We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers.'
Responding to the announcement on social media, Mr Lawrence wrote: 'This venue lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls. Understandable, but disappointing.
'I will reschedule for later in the year at a different venue. Southend, sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day.'
Mr Lawrence's X page displays a location tag with the words 'cancelled bin'. He has more than 100,000 followers on the social media site.
He previously commented on the Liverpool crash on social media, writing: 'Everything being written about the Liverpool incident in the MSM reads as if it's being directed by the Government and the security services. There is no free press in this country.'
Police in Liverpool are continuing to question the driver of the car, who was allegedly high on drugs at the time, and is said to have followed an ambulance through a police barrier before ramming the vehicle into supporters.
The suspect, who has not yet been named, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs.
Merseyside Police, which took the unusual decision to reveal the suspect's ethnicity when he had not yet been charged, did not confirm what illegal substance he was believed to have taken.
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