Latest news with #PeterCunningham
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man wrongly accused of being Liverpool car driver speaks out
A man who was falsely accused of being driver who ploughed into crowds following Liverpool FC's title parade on Monday has spoken of his shock at being linked to the incident. Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition after the collision on Water Street, Liverpool, on bank holiday Monday and 79 people in total were injured in the incident. Police quickly arrested a 53-year-old white British man from West Derby, Liverpool, who is currently being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving. Merseyside Police released no other details about the suspect but another man – father-of-three Peter Cunningham – saw his photo shared online and was wrongly named as the man who was arrested. The 54-year-old was inundated with calls and texts from concerned family and friends but he told the Liverpool Echo that he was neither at the parade nor in the city centre on Monday. Cunningham, from Huyton, Liverpool told the Echo it left him feeling 'stressed out,' adding: 'I don't need it all.' He said: 'It's a bad thing that has happened... 'It's nothing to do with me, I'm in work right now and the man they arrested is in custody.' He also criticised YouTubers for sharing misinformation. Cunningham said he had contacted the original poster of his misidentified image and managed to get it removed. Merseyside Police took the unusual step of releasing some details about the suspect in the immediate aftermath of the collision. Typically, this does not happen as details could identify someone, which could possibly prejudice any future trial or breach the privacy of that individual. On this occasion, the force gave noticeably more details about the suspect's age and his description – in this case a 'white British male'. This came following criticism levelled at Merseyside Police for their lack of information in the aftermath of the Southport knife attacks last year. One of Merseyside Police's former inspectors, Peter Williams, a senior lecturer in policing at Liverpool John Moores University, said the force had adopted a "complete step change" in how it shares information as a result. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday: 'It has been a shift, because, particularly in relation to the aftermath of Southport... there was a lot of criticism focused at Merseyside Police and of course the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service], in relation to how the management of information was sort of dealt with.' Williams said that the force may have been mindful of how information was handled by Lancashire Constabulary in the disappearance of Nicola Bulley in January 2023, which led to a College of Policing inquiry. Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC Radio 5 Live that the decision to release so much information about the suspect was 'unprecedented' but was probably done to avoid rioting that was seen in the immediate aftermath of the Southport attacks. Babu added: 'It's remarkably striking because police will not release that kind of information because they'll be worried about prejudicing any future trial, but I think they have to balance that against the potential of public disorder.' Click below to see the latest North West headlines
Metro
5 days ago
- Metro
Dad wrongly accused of driving car in Liverpool crowd ‘too scared to return home
A single dad-of-three who has been wrongly accused of being the Liverpool crash driver has had to move out of his house after a social media 'witch hunt'. Peter Cunningham has had threats made against his family and is too scared to leave his home after a post saying he was the driver went viral. The post came after a driver of a Ford Galaxy rammed into fans at Liverpool FC's victory parade on Monday evening. A total of 79 people were left injured, with reports of babies in prams being thrown into the air and supporters becoming trapped under wheels. A 53-year-old man from West Derby, Liverpool, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and unfit driving through drugs. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Police have not yet named him, but a viral post wrongly named painter and decorator Peter, who is also from West Derby, as the driver of the vehicle which has left him 'beside himself'. He told Metro: 'I couldn't stay in my house last night as I am so worried about being attacked. 'My oldest daughter has been receiving messages saying they wanted to attack us. I'm even scared to walk down the street.' Peter said he first found out about the post after his brother rang him to let him know, but at first thought he was joking. But the post has since been shared across Facebook and WhatsApp, leaving him with no way to say he was not at the parade or even in the city centre at the time of the incident. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He said: 'Police have just told me to take the post down, but how can I? I certainly didn't make it and it has been shared so much it's impossible to keep track.' Posts on local Facebook groups shows his daughter pleading with people to take it down, with commenters even apologising for sharing it. One woman wrote: 'I've sent his pic to my mates on Whatapp, I feel like an arse now that I've sent it saying that's him, I hope his family are okay. I'm sorry.' Peter said he now wants to seek legal action against the posters, as his daughters, aged 13, 14 and 21, are still nervous about going home. He said: 'I've had to remove myself from social media apps just so I don't get any of the threats, but we are so worried someone is going to jump me if they see me in public.' Neighbours of the suspect who remains in police custody have described as a 'helpful family man'. A neighbour told The Sun: 'The wife is a really nice woman and they have children. No one can believe this has happened. 'She first realised when she saw it was her car on the telly, when she saw it being driven at the parade.' He is believed to have tailgated an ambulance that had been allowed through the cordon to get to someone having a heart attack. A video shared exclusively with Metro showed a man driving into the crowd 'deliberately'. Radoslav Stamboliev, who filmed the clip, told Metro he thought the driver was 'coming straight for us deliberately, completely straight faced' and said there were children 'everywhere'. He had travelled up from London to watch the game, said he heard accelerating behind him before he jumped out of the way just in time. He said: 'I heard this massive engine revving behind me and he started to honk his horn as well. 'He lunged forward and it felt like he was coming straight for us deliberately, completely straight faced. 'Because he made so much noise before coming at us most of us moved out of the way in time.' The incident is not being treated as terrorism by police. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Record nine English teams qualify for Europe – is yours one of them? MORE: Why Liverpool pulled out of race to sign Matheus Cunha ahead of Manchester United MORE: Shocking moment cop shoots driver through windscreen while clinging to car hood in Miami
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Man wrongly accused of driving car into Liverpool crowd left 'stressed out'
Peter Cunningham was wrongly accused of being in connection with an incident that injured crowds celebrating Liverpool's title win. A different man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. A man falsely accused of driving a car into crowds of people during Liverpool FC's title celebrations says it has left him "stressed out". Dad-of-three Peter Cunningham was bombarded by calls and text messages from family and friends after his name and photograph was wrongly shared. The image was falsely connected to an incident in which 79 people were left injured following the incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre, reports the Mirror. A different man, a white British man from Derby, 53, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs. Peter from Huyton on the outskirts of Liverpool said he was not at the parade or in the city centre on Monday when the Ford Galaxy drove into crowds of people shortly after 6pm. The car is believed to have managed to tailgate behind an ambulance in order to make its way on to Water Street, which had been closed to traffic for the parade event. It was confirmed that the ambulance had been allowed past a road block at the junction of Water Street and Rumford Street to attend to a man suffering a suspected heart attack when the Galaxy driver followed in behind. Since the arrest, a photo of Peter has been shared on social media which claims the 54-year-old is the man in custody. In response he said: "I'm stressed out, I don't need it all. "It's a bad thing that has happened and the police need to do something about it and get his name out there. Other people's names have been shared. "It's nothing to do with me, I'm in work right now and the man they arrested is in custody." Speaking about the moment he found out his name had been shared in connection to the incident, he said: "I was getting phone calls off family members and friends saying 'what the hell is going on?'. "These YouTubers and people on social media are just sharing it to make money." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Peter claims he has since messaged the account he believes was first to share his photo in connection with the incident, and their post has now been taken down. Eyewitness reports suggest some of the pedestrians in the area attempted to stop him from progressing down the closed off street. After this the car sped up and ploughed into those walking along Water Street, creating a scene of devastation. Police quickly said they had arrested a 53-year-man from Liverpool, before the force announced he was from West Derby and had officially been arrested. In total there were at least 79 casualties, with 50 people treated at hospitals across the region. 11 of those remained in hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, with police confirming they are all in a stable condition and appear to be recovering well. Merseyside Police continue to question the man arrested in connection with the crash on Water Street and have confirmed he remains in custody until at least Thursday.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Liverpool parade: Man wrongly identified as driver speaks out
A man wrongly identified on social media as being the driver of a car which ploughed into crowds of people in Liverpool says he has moved his children out of their home because he fears for their Cunningham, 54, had his picture circulated online after the incident on Monday, when 79 people were injured while celebrating Liverpool's Premier League have been granted more time to question the suspected driver of the Ford Galaxy that hit pedestrians at the parade - a 53-year-old man from West Derby in Liverpool who has not been Street, where the incident happened, reopened on Wednesday morning. Seven people remain in a stable condition in hospital. Research by BBC Verify found the name Peter Cunningham was mentioned by a user on X on Monday evening, in response to a post enquiring about the identity of the suspect. On Tuesday night, an Instagram post with an image of Mr Cunningham was shared by a user claiming to be based in Liverpool, along with the false claim that it was the first photo of the suspect. This same image appears on Mr Cunningham's own Facebook profile. The Instagram post featuring Mr Cunningham's picture - which has also been shared on Facebook - has now been Cunningham, from Huyton in Liverpool, told the BBC on Wednesday that he had been with his children along the parade route about four miles (6.4km) away from Water Street at the time of the incident, which he didn't find out about until he got said of the false accusations: "It's not me. I'm in work - the police need to give the [suspect's] name out because I'm getting accused."Family members and friends are ringing and asking me, but it could get a whole lot worse. The police need to do something. "I was down Queens Drive with my children. I'm in a completely different car anyway, I've got a Hyundai."I wouldn't go into town because I knew it was too chocka to go up there with the girls."When asked if he was fearful of an attack due to the viral post about him, Mr Cunningham said: "It can still put me at great harm, I've had to move my children to a different house today because we're that nervous."The BBC's disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring said false accusations about the identities of suspects can flood social media following high-profile attacks or incidents."The problem is exacerbated by the limitations police forces face when it comes to releasing more information about a suspect when they're yet to be charged," she said."Ultimately, there are few repercussions for those sharing these defamatory posts online. The impact is principally felt by the person whose reputation is dragged through the virtual mud, as worried family and friends watch on. "And it's yet another example where some of the social media sites take little to no action over what's posted on their platforms - principally because they don't know the facts either, but also because they have relaxed their policies to deal with disinformation and abuse." Merseyside Police said in an update on Wednesday that it had been granted more time to question the suspect following a previous extension, which will remain in place until do not ordinarily name a suspect before they are charged, and Merseyside Police have urged people not to speculate on the identity of the man in arrest was made shortly after 18:00 BST on Monday, and police usually have 24 hours to question a suspect in custody before they have to either charge them or let them suspected of terrorism offences can be held for up to a fortnight without a charge, but police have ruled out terrorism in this case. Det Supt Rachel Wilson said the force was making "significant progress" to establish the "full circumstances that led to what happened", with CCTV being used to track the movements of the car before it hit the crowds."I'm pleased to say that the number of people in hospital is reducing as they continue to recover from the awful incident," she said."We continue to support those still receiving treatment and, as part of our ongoing enquiries, we are identifying more people who were injured." Additional reporting by BBC Verify
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
I was wrongly identified as Liverpool parade crash suspect after keyboard warriors shared my picture online
A man who was wrongly accused of driving a car into a crowd of Liverpool FC fans on Monday has hit out at the keyboard warriors who shared his photo online, blasting them for 'making money' with false accusations. Peter Cunningham, a father of three from Huyton on the eastern outskirts of the Merseyside city, found himself at the centre of an armchair detective probe after a man ploughed into fans on Water Street at 6pm on Monday, injuring 79. Mr Cunningham, 54, had his picture circulated online by keyboard warriors who were fervently trying to identify the suspect after Merseyside Police released information on the driver's identity. Ironically, the force is thought to have released some information on the suspect - a 53-year-old white British man from Liverpool - in order to avoid a repeat of the storm of misinformation online in the wake of the Southport attacks. But Mr Cunningham was wrongly fingered by social media ghouls as the man responsible despite the fact he is the wrong age, and from another area of Liverpool. He has, however, been forced to take the unprecedented and unusual step of denying it is him to bat off amateur sleuths. He told several media outlets today that he was not at the parade in Liverpool city centre on Monday afternoon - and has called on the police to release the name of the man currently under arrest. He told the BBC: 'It's not me. The police need to do something.' And speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Mr Cunningham said his phone began ringing off the hook as news of the incident in the city centre broke. He said: 'I'm stressed out, I don't need it all. It's a bad thing that has happened and the police need to do something about it and get his name out there. 'Other people's names have been shared. I was getting phone calls off family members and friends saying, 'What the hell is going on?'. 'These YouTubers and people on social media are just sharing it to make money.' UK police forces do not typically release the names of individuals suspected of crimes until they have been charged. A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: 'We have arrested a 53-year-old man from West Derby and he remains in police custody where he continues to be interviewed.' Earlier, the force said suggestions that anyone else has been arrested were 'incorrect'. Merseyside Police is thought to have released information on the identity of the suspected attacker promptly after its failure to do so in the wake of the Southport attacks stoked a fire of misinformation. Trolls claimed a Muslim illegal immigrant had carried out the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday club last July. In reality, the killer was Axel Rudakubana, a British teenager born to Christian parents - but the misinformation nevertheless fuelled anti-immigration protests outside asylum hotels and riots in town centres across the country. Amateur sleuths have also been criticised for trying to get involved in high-profile police investigations, such as that of missing mother Nicola Bulley. TikTok trolls were seen trudging through areas close to where she disappeared, and had made cruel allegations that her friends were 'crisis actors' somehow covering up her true fate. It prompted Lancashire Police, which investigated her ultimately tragic death, to hit out at TikTokers for 'been playing (at being) their own private detectives'. Nevertheless, social media continues to ferment with speculation as to the identity of the driver in the Liverpool incident. A man thought to be the driver remains under arrest on suspicion of attempted murder, driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs. Some 50 people, including four children, needed hospital treatment following the carnage at the end of the Premier League champions' open-topped bus celebrations on Monday evening. Eleven victims were stable and recovering well in hospital last night, but police sources said it was a miracle no one had died. The attack occurred just after 6pm on Water Street, a road off The Strand – the main thoroughfare in front of the Royal Liver Building – which the team bus had passed moments before, as supporters walked home. Horrifying footage shows fans being catapulted into the air and some trapped under the wheels. Fire crews extracted four people, including a child, from under the vehicle. Mobile phone footage from neighbouring Dale Street shows the driver blasting his horn at fans, some of whom strike the vehicle with their fists and feet. He is thought to have tailgated an ambulance, rushing to help a suspected heart attack victim, through a roadblock and into the throngs of jubilatory fans. A source told the Mail that the incident was 'more road rage, not terror'. 'It seems the driver was panicked or frightened or both, but what happened next was terrible,' they said. Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims, of Merseyside Police, told reporters yesterday: 'An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident are ongoing, and we continue to ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and refrain from sharing distressing content online.'
