Speed of release of race and ethnicity of Liverpool suspect ‘unprecedented'
The speed at which police released the race and ethnicity of the suspect in the Liverpool car incident is 'unprecedented', a former chief superintendent has said.
Merseyside Police confirmed they had a arrested a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area around two hours after the incident that left dozens of people, including four children, hurt.
The force was criticised in the wake of the Southport murders last summer for not releasing more information after false rumours were started online that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'What we do have, which is unprecedented, is the police very quickly giving the ethnicity and the race of the person who was driving the vehicle… and it was Merseyside Police who didn't give that information with the Southport horrific murders of those three girls, and the rumours were that it was an asylum seeker who arrived on a boat and it was a Muslim extremist, and that wasn't the case.
'So I think what the police have done very, very quickly, and I've never known a case like this before where they've given the ethnicity and the race of the individual who was involved in it, so I think that was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far-right that sort of continues on X even as we speak that this was a Muslim extremist and there's a conspiracy theory.'
In March, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told MPs she wanted to dispel disinformation in the immediate aftermath of the Southport murders by releasing information about attacker Axel Rudakubana's religion, because he came from a Christian family, but was told not to by local crown prosecutors.
Police did disclose that the suspect was a 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff.
Widespread rioting followed the murders, with some disorder targeting mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram backed the force's unusual decision to release the information about the Liverpool suspect so quickly.
He told reporters: 'If you have a look at my timeline, there was somebody very quickly saying 'Why are you lying? There's been another incident in another part of the city', which obviously wasn't true, and then they were trying to stir it up who might be responsible for it.
'That's why I think the police acted… to dampen that sort of speculation, because it was designed to inflame. It was designed to divide.'
Asked if he would like to see similar details released in the future in similar cases, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: 'That is a matter for the police and the investigation is ongoing so I think we need to leave that to them.
'I think today is a day really for thinking about all those impacted by this and being absolutely clear that we stand with them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Future of Vivergo Fuels plant 'hanging in the balance', says boss
Workers from the UK's largest bioethanol plant have visited Westminster to raise concerns the facility could close within days without government of Vivergo Fuels in Saltend, near Hull, said the plant's future was "hanging in the balance" after the removal of a 19% tariff on US ethanol imports, which was part of the recent UK-US trade firm said that without urgent action, the plant, which employs more than 160 people, would no longer be government said it was working closely with the industry to understand the impacts of the trade deal and it was open to discussions over potential support. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, about 35 workers made the trip to Hackett, managing director of Vivergo Fuels, said: "With the future of the Vivergo plant hanging in the balance, our workers felt compelled to speak directly to their MPs about what is at stake."This isn't just about one site. It's about protecting thousands of skilled jobs, supporting British farming and preserving a vital part of our green energy infrastructure."MP for Hull East Karl Turner said: "The fact that dozens of workers had to travel from East Yorkshire to Westminster today shows just how serious this situation is."Vivergo is not only a major employer in our region - it's a key player in our green economy and food security."The new mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, urged the government to "rethink" the trade deal with the US to protect British April, Associated British Foods (ABF) said it was in talks with the government to help save its Saltend plant after the company was forced to cut production levels due to low bioethanol Fuels produces bioethanol which is used in E10 petrol.E10, which was introduced in 2021 to help cut carbon emissions, contains up to 10% plant also produces animal feed, which is a by-product of the bioethanol production process. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Liz Truss hits back at Tory shadow chancellor for mini-budget disavowal
Liz Truss has hit out at the Conservatives' shadow chancellor after he formally disowned her hastily reversed 2022 mini-budget, saying it had damaged the party's reputation for economic competence. The former prime minister labelled Mel Stride a 'creature of the system', part of a failed fiscal orthodoxy which, she argued, would prevent the Conservatives taking power again if left unchallenged. Stride's insistence at a speech in London that 'never again' would the Conservatives offer up a largely unfunded package of tax cuts is the first time that the party hierarchy under its leader, Kemi Badenoch, has definitively cut itself off from Truss, who lasted just 49 days in power. One Tory shadow minister said the impetus for Stride's speech was in part to allow the Conservatives to attack Reform UK's lavish programme of tax cuts as being a potential re-run of the Truss debacle, as Keir Starmer did last week. In his speech, Stride labelled Reform's economic policies 'pure populism'. He added: 'They would plough ahead with huge additional welfare spending, as well as tax cuts, with no plan for how to pay for any of it.' Addressing Truss's September 2022 fiscal plans, which involved about £45bn in unfunded tax cuts, he said: 'For a few weeks, we put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected. 'Back then mistakes were recognised and stability restored within weeks, with the full backing of our party. But the damage to our credibility is not so easily undone. That will take time. And it also requires contrition. So let me be clear: never again will the Conservative party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford.' Truss released a statement that called Stride 'one of the Conservative MPs who kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy and was set on undermining my plan for growth from the moment I beat his chosen candidate for the party leadership [Rishi Sunak]'. She added: 'Until Mel Stride admits the economic failings of the last Conservative government, the British public will not trust the party with the reins of power again.' In a later tweet, she again took aim personally at Stride, calling him 'a creature of the system' who, when the pair were both Treasury ministers under Theresa May, 'always went along with officials'. In his speech, Stride also urged people to have patience with Badenoch's leadership, saying: 'She will get better through time at the media. She will get better through time at the dispatch box at PMQs. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Just as Margaret Thatcher, when she became leader in '75, was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice to heaven knows what else, in the end she got it together and Kemi will do absolutely that.' The Conservatives currently poll in third place behind Reform UK and Labour, with a YouGov poll published on Wednesday showing the Tories on 18%, just one point ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Badenoch's own favourability ratings have also fallen since she became party leader, reaching -27% according to a More in Common poll carried out last weekend.
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Two Coventry councillors move to Reform from Conservatives
Two Coventry city councillors have defected from the Conservative party and joined Reform Lapsa and Jackie Gardiner said the Tory party had changed and they felt "let down by so many broken promises".Westwood councillor Lapsa and Sherbourne councillor Gardiner said they believed Nigel Farage's party had the answers to the biggest problems facing the group leader Gary Ridley said their defection was a "huge betrayal of people in Sherbourne and Westood who voted to have Conservative representation". Addressing them in an interview with BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, he said: "You should stand in a by-election, resign your seat and stand under your new banner and give the people of those wards a say over who they're represented by."They're being denied their vote."Lapsa, who has represented Westwood since 2008, said he had joined Reform "because both Labour and the Conservatives have failed our country on a massive scale". "Councils across the country are no longer able to deliver for local residents," he added, citing issues with bin collections and who has represented Sherbourne since 2022, said she had joined the party "because of their determination to uphold British culture, identity, and values". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
