
Liverpool parade: Why were suspect details released so quickly?
The police's rapid announcement of the age, ethnicity, and nationality of the Liverpool parade suspect shows they've learned lessons from the 2024 Southport attack.
Within two hours of a car hitting a crowd of Liverpool fans as they celebrated their team parading the Premier League trophy, Merseyside Police said they had arrested a "53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area".
Last summer, the same force was criticised in the aftermath of the Southport stabbings when online speculation and misinformation filled a void after the same force released few details about a 17-year-old - later revealed to be Axel Rudakubana - that they had in custody.
On today's Sky News Daily, Matt Barbet is joined by our north of England correspondent Katerina Vittozzi, who is in Liverpool, and Helen King, former assistant chief constable for Merseyside Police, who talks about the challenges of policing online speculation.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Drug dealer son of iconic 1990s band's lead singer who was snared by cops after finding messages about his dad is jailed
THE drug dealer son of an iconic '90s singer has been jailed after being identified in texts linked to his dad. Thomas Hooton, 30, was trusted to broker multi-million pound drug deals for organised criminals using an encrypted messaging service. 2 2 However, specialist officers were able to identify the criminal - who was using the name "Ownraptor" - by linking messages on the account to the identity of his dad Peter Hooton, 62, lead singer of The Farm. Today, the 30-year-old was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to 10 years and eight months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine. Specialist investigators had managed to nick the drug dealer after piecing together a number of clues about his identity - including pictures of his musician dad with the Champions League trophy. On one occasion, an associate sent Hooton a picture of his dad Peter and also made comments linking the criminal to him. Hooton also spoke in messages about driving a Black Audi A3 and that his 'arl fella'' arranged his insurance for him. Official checks then showed Peter Hooton had insured a black Audi A3 for his son. After being arrested by officers from Merseyside's Organised Crime Partnership in April, Hooton later pleaded guilty to the supply of a number of drugs. All in all, he had been messaging criminals on the service EncroChat to deal drugs with a wholesale value of around £1.3 million. The drug dealer had 41 different names for contacts within EncroChat and had a County Lines drug supply to criminals across Scotland as well as north-east and southern England. A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said: "At the very minimum, Hooton was involved in the supply of 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10 kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine. "His messages said he was in possession of around £400,000 and owed £258,000." His offences were committed between March 26 and June 4 in 2020. Detective Chief Inspector Lynsay Armbruster said: "It's clear Hooton was involved in organised crime for a long time before he was charged. "His criminal and geographical reach will have taken considerable time to establish. "His drug supply operations were on an almost daily basis, they were sustained and spanned the UK working with high level criminals." EncroChat was infiltrated and taken down in 2020 by a European taskforce.


BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Thousands of retained firefighters owed pension payments, union says
More than 10,000 former retained firefighters across the UK are missing out on pension payments, according to a payments, which became available following recent legal rulings, could be worth anything from several thousand to more than £100, Fire and Rescue Services Association (FRSA) has urged anyone who might qualify to contact their old employers to ask if they are eligible and to get help about how to or on-call, firefighters are usually based in more rural locations and answer emergency calls alongside working a normal job. They never used to get a pension. However, two legal rulings in the past few years have changed that, meaning they are now entitled to anyone who served as a retained firefighter between two dates connected to those rulings - April 2000 and April 2006 - could qualify, and not just for a pension covering those six years, but for their entire must "buy back" (pay for) the pension contributions they would have made toward any pension scheme, but that bill can be taken off any final payment they're much money that is depends on factors such as the amount of time served, how busy their fire station was and what rank they attained. 'Great bonus to the household' Peter Duncombe spent 35 years serving as a retained firefighter in Buckinghamshire and qualified for a lump sum of about £10,000 plus ongoing monthly payments of around £180."This extra pension... is a great bonus toward the household," he said."Especially with the current issues with the cost of living increases, fuel rises and electricity going up. It's just excellent really. "The lump sum, which was a great bonus, we're actually going to use some of that for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday... and the remainder will go back into the kitty for maybe another holiday in another year." So far the FRSA estimates about 16,000 people have come forward to make a of them have received lump sum payments of tens of thousands of pounds, plus monthly payments going the union estimates at least 10,000 more are eligible but haven't yet put in a urging them to contact their former employer to find out how to put in a claim or message the union via its website to get help and advice.A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said: "It's essential our firefighters get the pensions they have earned as quickly as possible."Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for the administration of the pensions, and the government is supporting them to address issues raised by firefighters."A Local Government Association spokesperson said: "Some individuals have service that goes back as far as the 1960s and Fire and Rescue Authorities have been working tirelessly in trying to trace some individuals, to ensure that they do not miss out on this opportunity." After serving as a retained firefighter for nearly 30 years in Devon and Cornwall Paul Jarvis qualified for a lump sum payment of around £30,000 and ongoing monthly payments of nearly £200."This lump sum payment will improve my expectations and will mean that I can afford to retire nearly straightaway," he said."Then, going forward, it will boost my state pension... as well as giving me an extra monthly payment which, in these times, is a very, very useful payment."A spokesperson for the National Fire Chiefs Council, which represents fire and rescue service, said on-call firefighters play a "critical role" in the UK's emergency response and strongly encouraged anyone who thinks they may be eligible for payments to contact their pensions administrator.


The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Lucas Paqueta ‘set to be CLEARED of betting charges as FA faced with paying West Ham star's £1MILLION legal fees'
LUCAS PAQUETA is set to be cleared of spot-fixing charges, according to reports. The West Ham star has played for two years while allegations of being deliberately yellow carded were hanging over his head. 2 2 It was alleged that Paqueta picked up bookings on four separate occasions between November 2022 to August 2023 amid suspicious betting patterns being flagged. A guilty verdict could have seen the 27-year-old slapped with a lifetime ban from football. But reports from The Times claim Paqueta will be cleared of all charges. The FA are set to confirm their decision early next week. West Ham and Paqueta are said to be furious over how long it has taken to reach a verdict. The FA could now face having to cover the cost of the midfielder's legal fees, which is in the region of £1million. Shortly before the investigation became public, Manchester City had agreed an £85million deal to sign the former Lyon man from West Ham. But that move collapsed once City became aware of the allegations. An investigation was launched after suspicions betting patterns were identified originating from Paqueta Island in Brazil, where the player was born. Bets ranging from just £7 to £400 were placed on the four separate cards, in matches against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth. A total of £100,000 in winnings came from bets placed on the four bookings. West Ham's then shirt sponsor, Betway, as well as a number of other high-profile bookmakers, raised concerns after their automatic systems which monitor suspicious betting were triggered. After the nine-month FA probe, Paqueta was charged in May last year but did not face a hearing until March 2025, which finished following the end of the Premier League season. During the hearing, evidence was heard from former West Ham boss David Moyes. Paqueta's form has nosedived during the process, with the playmaker in tears on the pitch following a booking in a West Ham game versus Tottenham in May. Following that match, Paqeuta's wife released an emotional statement saying the family had been living through a "nightmare" for two years. Sources close to the player have revealed that the allegations have had a serious impact on Paqueta's mental well-being. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..