Questions mount over liverpool parade safety as new images emerge

FANS HAVE SHARED PICTURES OF LARGE VEHICLES TRAVELLING ON ROADS WHERE MANY PEOPLE WERE GATHERED - AS OPPOSITION POLITICIANS CALL FOR ANSWERS 04:00, 01 Jun 2025 Questions are continuing to

mount about the organisation of Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade which ended with a car being driven into crowds of fans and injuring nearly 80 people. A total of 79

pedestrians, ranging from children as young as nine to a 78-year-old, were hurt after fans were struck by a vehicle in Water Street after the victory parade on Monday, May 26. The days that

followed Monday's harrowing scenes have seen questions asked about various elements of the organisation, safety and traffic management protocols involved with the parade - which saw

around one million people line the streets of Liverpool as the team bus made its way around a 15km route. Naturally many have asked how the vehicle was able to make it onto Water Street,

which was pedestrianised. But there have been many other concerns raised by those who attended about other parts of the route, where cars and larger vehicles were often on roads at the same

time as large numbers of people. A number of people have specifically questioned the decision to keep one side of Queens Drive open, despite the volume of people who were in attendance

meaning that vehicles - including Heavy Goods vehicles - were in the road at the same time as many pedestrians. The latest person to raise this is a dad who went to the parade with his

five-year-old son and shared images with the ECHO of large lorries and coaches being able to travel along Queens Drive around 20 minutes before the team bus came through. The images clearly

show people and children in the road at the time vehicles are passing through. Article continues below The dad said: "Looking at it now after what had happened, how on earth is a lorry

allowed to drive through hundreds of people lined on both sides of the road?" The ECHO previously heard from a former Merseyside Police officer who was similarly concerned about the

situation in Queens Drive as he joined the parade close to the Jolly Miller pub with his children. He said: "As soon as we got to the Jolly Miller I could see that they had closed the

inbound carriageway, where the parade bus would come through, but they hadn't closed the other side. "This meant that lots of vehicles, including dozens of Heavy Goods Vehicles,

were trying to get along the road among loads of people, who were basically penned in because of how big the crowds were. "There were lots of us asking what was going on, why were these

vehicles being allowed through when there were so many people in the road? It instilled a bit of fear and anxiety. I couldn't believe they were still allowing traffic through that

area." These accounts - and the grim scenes in Water Street - are leading to further questions being asked about what measures were put in place for the parade by those organising it.

Cllr Alan Gibbons, who leads the Liverpool Community Independents Group, has submitted what is referred to as a Right to Know request to Liverpool City Council regarding the organisation of

the parade. In an email to council chief executive Andrew Lewis, Cllr Gibbons said: "Following the deeply concerning incident on Monday May 26, during the victory parade in Liverpool

City Centre, when a vehicle was driven into a crowd of people on Water Street, I am writing to request urgent clarification and accountability regarding the public safety planning and

execution for this event. "It is important to know whether sufficient measures were undertaken to protect the public. Based on footage circulating on social media and mainstream news

outlets, a number of critical questions arise surrounding the circumstances of the incident, the preparedness of the authorities, and the overall safeguarding of the public." Cllr

Gibbons has asked a large number of questions around the event planning and risk assessment for the event, the incident details and response and whether lessons were learned from previous

events. He asked what risk assessments were carried out, whether vehicle-borne threats were identified and what specific measures were implemented to prevent unauthorised vehicles from

accessing parade routes. In his email he also asks: "Why does footage appear to show no visible police presence in the vicinity at the time of the vehicle entering the area? What was

the contingency plan in the event of a vehicle breach, and how was it communicated to officers and stewards on duty?" Cllr Gibbons is not the only political figure in Liverpool calling

for answers about what happened at the parade. Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Carl Cashman has already called for a judge-led full independent inquiry into the events that unfolded in Water

Street on Monday. In a letter to Liverpool Council leader Liam Robinson, Cllr Cashman said: "I am asking that the CEO and yourself as the Leader of the Council immediately convene an

urgent meeting of the political group leaders on Liverpool City Council to establish the composition and terms of inquiry of an independent inquiry. "The composition of the inquiry

should be determined at the meeting but I will be suggesting that it is Judge led to ensure impartiality. I will also ask that the inquiry is carried out with all reasonable speed to aim for

a conclusion within three months of its commencement." Speaking about the parade organisation, Merseyside Police's Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: "In the lead up

to this event we have been working closely with event organisers and a robust traffic management plan was put in place for the parade which included a number of road closures throughout the

route and the city centre." Article continues below Liverpool City Council has yet to release an official statement regarding questions about its safety protocols. The council said it

acknowledged the emails sent be elected members on these matters and that council officers will provide a response in due course. On Friday, 53-year-old Paul Doyle appeared in court charged

with various offences connected with the parade crash incident. He was remanded in custody to appear in court next for a plea hearing on August 14.