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The Independent
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Police praised for releasing Liverpool parade suspect's ethnicity
Following an incident in Liverpool, Police promptly identified the suspect as a 53-year-old white man from Merseyside, a swift release of information aimed at countering online misinformation. This approach marks a change from the Southport attack, where delayed information led to misinformation and far-right unrest. Peter Williams from Liverpool John Moores University noted the shift in Merseyside Police 's information management, contrasting it with criticism received after the Southport incident. Dal Babu, former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent, called the quick release of the suspect's ethnicity and race "unprecedented," likely intended to dispel speculation of an Islamist attack. While officials like Steve Rotherham supported the decision to counter online speculation, Helen King, former Merseyside Police assistant chief constable, cautioned against expecting such disclosures routinely, citing risks to ongoing investigations and court cases.
Metro
27-05-2025
- Metro
Why it was important police pointed out the Liverpool suspect is white
Moments after a car tore into fans celebratingLiverpool's 20th Premier League title, social media flooded with false claims that the driver was a Muslim man. Almost 50 people, including four children, were wounded, with some even trapped under the vehicle as the horror unfolded. As emergency services responded on the ground, a different narrative was taking hold online. Anonymous accounts quickly fuelled speculation, deploying fake images, misleading captions and claims backed by no evidence to push an Islamophobic narrative. But Merseyside Police were quick to put an end to online misinformation spreading in a move described as 'unprecedented'. 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. Learning from past mistakes, Merseyside Police moved to shut down the rumours. Within two hours, they confirmed that a white male, aged 53, was arrested and that the incident was not being treated as terrorism. In July last year, Merseyside Police faced criticism for the lack of information released in the wake of the murders of three girls in Southport. Peter Williams, lecturer in policing at Liverpool John Moores University, described it as a 'complete step change' in how the force is managing the public discourse. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the quicker response was very different to what happened after the Southport terror attack in July 2024. He said: 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, in relation to how the management of information was sort of dealt with. 'But also, if listeners cast their mind back further, is the investigation into Nicola Bulley as how the management of the information was responded to on that occasion. That led to a College of Policing inquiry.' He said one of the recommendations made after the Southport attack was to prevent any 'vacuums' of information in future incidents, particularly ifthere is harmful online content. Mr Williams continued: 'It was no surprise to me last night that within an hour or so, we got a statement to say what had happened and that somebody, a male, had been detained. Later on, there was a press conference led by the Assistant Chief Constable, where she shared a lot more information.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent, Dal Babu, said it was 'unprecedented' that the police 'very quickly' gave the ethnicity and race of the suspect. He 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.' Merseyside Police assistant chief constable Jenny Sims stressed that it is 'vital' that people do not speculate or spread misinformation online. During last night's press conference, she said: 'I know that people will understandably be concerned by what has happened tonight. 'What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism.' Alison McGovern, MP for Birkenhead, also called on members of public not to speculate following the 'really awful' incident. She felt 'so devastated' after spending four hours at the Liverpool's Premier League victory parade. Asked about how important the police announcement of an arrest was, the Labour MP said: 'The police gave out some very clear messages yesterday, not least that if people have got footage or anything that might be useful to them, then please, please give it to Merseyside Police and do not speculate on the internet or share things like that. 'In Merseyside, the police have been through quite a lot in recent times and they' are very, very capable, and I would ask people to listen to them and to do as they've asked.' It did not take long after the attack for disinformation to spread on social media, suggesting that the suspect is a Muslim man. Pictures of a man present at the parade were circulated online, identifying him by name, and claiming that he was behind the wheel of the car. More Trending But the man was later seen in the crowd, celebrating with other Liverpool fans. One account on X, authenticated by the app as a 'parody account', asked if the driver was 'a Ukrainian or a Muslim', claiming it is 'always one or the other'. 'Either a 'refugee' from a Nato-fuelled war zone or another radical jihadist let in under Britain's open border suicide pact,' the post added. Others even suggested that Merseyside Police is purposely misleading the public that the suspect is a white man. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Four people still 'very ill in hospital' after car crashed into Liverpool fans MORE: Crowds held back from lunging into police van after Liverpool victory parade crash MORE: Liverpool open to surprise summer exit in huge shake-up of forward line
The Independent
27-05-2025
- The Independent
Liverpool parade crash: How Southport attack forced police to change response
Within two hours of a car ploughing into crowds in Liverpool city centre, police had confirmed the alleged driver was a 53-year-old white man from the Merseyside area. No doubt desperate to halt the spread of misinformation online, which had already begun to circulate on social media along with graphic footage of the incident, Merseyside Police made the unusual decision to share the suspect's ethnicity and nationality at the earliest stages of the investigation. It marks a 'complete step change' in their approach to the response to the horrific knife attack in Southport last summer, police commentators have noted. A vacuum of information in the aftermath of the stabbing at a children's dance class was filled with misinformation about the suspect's ethnicity and asylum status, which helped to fuel angry far-right riots which erupted across the country. On that occasion, police had told the public they had arrested a 17-year-old from Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff, but it did little to quell the surge in inaccurate information being shared on social media. The mass unrest illustrated all too starkly the new threat facing police responding to high profile incidents in an online age – the tinderbox of social media and weaponised misinformation. After Monday's attack at Liverpool's Premier League victory parade, which wounded 50 and left thousands of shocked football fans stranded in the city centre, police acted faster. Peter Williams, senior lecturer in policing at Liverpool John Moores University, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there has been a 'shift' in their approach. He said: '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, in relation to how the management of information was sort of dealt with.' He later added: 'It was no surprise to me last night that within an hour or so, we got a statement to say what had happened and that somebody, a male, had been detained. 'Later on, there was a press conference led by the Assistant Chief Constable, where she shared a lot more information. 'As that investigation progresses, which will be a major one led by the major investigation team, that will be shared with the public, so there's been a complete step change in how the police will be communicating what has occurred with the public.' Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent in London's Metropolitan Police, said it was 'unprecedented' and the police acted 'very quickly' in giving the ethnicity and race of the suspect. He said it was likely an effort to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack. Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham said it was 'absolutely the right thing to do' to put to put to bed online speculation. 'Because if you have a look at social media already, within minutes of the incident being posted, there was speculation, and there was some nefarious groups who were trying to stir up some speculation around who was responsible for it,' he said. 'So the whole idea was to put to bed some of that for, obviously, the misinformation and disinformation that was out there, and to try to calm people.' Pressure on police responding to such attacks is not just coming from the public - politicians are also increasingly quick to demand information. Comments from Reform leader Nigel Farage in the wake of the Southport attack, asking 'whether the truth is being withheld from us', were criticised for helping to fuel the unrest. Shortly after yesterday's attack in Liverpool, shadow home secretary Chris Philp had posted on X: 'The public deserve to know the full facts as quickly as possible.' However politicians will know all too well that police must balance the threat of public disorder with the risk of prejudicing any future trial. Contempt of court laws strictly limit what can be shared about a case before it goes to trial. Helen King, a former Merseyside Police assistant chief constable, warned we should not expect such information to be released as a matter of routine. 'I guess what concerns me is that with future incidents, there's always a risk that the police may not be able to do this, and we need to manage public and media expectations,' she said. 'There may be occasions when it's not clear, the information that the public are asking for. The police will not want to release inaccurate information and undermine public confidence in that way. 'And also there is a major criminal investigation ongoing now that investigation must not be compromised, and in future incidents, release of detail about suspects, about people arrested could potentially compromise an investigation or a court case. She said sharing information was the 'right thing to do on this occasion', but said each incident will be different. 'It is a really difficult new world, isn't it that the police the courts are operating in it is we need to let the police do their job, let the other emergency services and prosecution authorities do their job and not go around demanding information,' she added.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
South Western Railway recovers millions from fare dodgers
A railway company says its revenue officers have recovered £3.4m from fare dodgers over the course of a Western Railway, which operates between London Waterloo and Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire, estimates there are about seven million journeys made without a ticket on its services each operator says it believes that level of fare dodging costs it £40m a persistent offender was found to have evaded £49,000 over five years, and another more than £19,000, the company said. Peter Williams, customer and commercial director, said: "We understand genuine mistakes happen. But, there's growing evidence of some systematically abusing the system."Our teams work around the clock to check tickets on stations and trains."They face many challenges, but their efforts have helped cut ticketless travel by more than 40% since 2017 and recover millions of pounds of taxpayer money."Across the rail industry in the UK, it is estimated fare evasion costs nearly £240m a year.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
£3.4 million recovered from fare dodgers by South Western Railway
South Western Railway has recovered £3.4 million from fare dodgers in the last year. The train operator revealed the figure as part of its revenue protection work. Unpaid fares cost the railway close to £240 million a year. New research shows that more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of Brits believe that those who deliberately avoid paying the correct fare are exploiting the system and it's not fair to paying customers. South Western Railway's revenue protection team features in a new documentary, 'Fare Dodgers', which premieres on May 19 at 9pm on Channel 5. The documentary highlights the team's efforts to reduce fare evasion and make train travel fair for paying customers. The launch of the documentary coincides with new research from the train operator, which shows that around seven million of the 153.2 million journeys on South Western Railway's network annually are made without a valid ticket. These unpaid fares cost South Western Railway close to £40 million a year. According to the Rail Delivery Group, this figure rises to over £240 million a year for the whole of the rail industry. A poll of 2,000 UK adults conducted by YouGov on behalf of South Western Railway revealed that 68 per cent disapprove of deliberate fare evasion and say that fare dodging is a serious problem that should be penalised. Peter Williams, customer and commercial director at South Western Railway, said: "Most customers on our network pay the correct fare and we understand genuine mistakes happen. "But, there's growing evidence of some systematically abusing the system - a criminal offence that deprives the railway of hundreds of millions of pounds each year. "We have a responsibility to protect revenue from tickets so that money can be reinvested into delivering the best possible service." Thanks to South Western Railway's revenue protection policy, the operator has identified persistent evaders and over the last year, recovered over £1 million from fraud cases. This includes an individual who owed over £49,000 for five years of dodging fares.
