Guardian

Liverpool parade attack: Paul Doyle sentenced to more than 21 years for using car as weapon against celebrating crowd – live

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We will give you more details soon.Key events5m agoDoyle sentenced to 21 years and six months15m agoJudge says the 'crowd did not cause this incident'18m agoJudge says Doyle's 'disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding'20m agoJudge says Doyle caused 'scenes of devastation' as he 'deliberately' drove into crowd38m agoPaul Doyle's lawyer says client is 'appalled by own conduct'42m agoDoyle 'remorseful' and 'deeply sorry' - lawyer1h agoDoyle had history of assault convictions including biting off man's ear2h ago'Trauma' from parade attack has 'taken me to a darker place than my cancer battle'2h ago'I don't recognise the person I have become' since being injured by Doyle2h ago'I used to feel a deep sense of pride looking at the Liverpool skyline... now it fills me with fear'2h ago'The physical scars are visible, but the emotional ones run deeper'2h ago'I have not yet felt able to return to Liverpool'2h ago'The horror of not knowing whether he was alive or dead will haunt me forever'2h ago'Even hearing the Liverpool accent can trigger anxiety'2h agoHearing at Liverpool crown court resumes3h agoMan who drove into Liverpool FC parade due to be sentencedShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureThe judge described the evidence against Doyle as overwhelming.Doyle sentenced to 21 years and six monthsThe judge has sentenced Paul Doyle to 21 years and six months in prison for his actions. We will give you more details soon.The judge said Doyle acted in an “inexplicable and undiluted fury” when he ploughed into crowds at Liverpool’s victory parade.He said: “A number of witnesses, including serving police officers, describe you continuing to press the accelerator, even when people were visibly underneath the car.“Your shouted expressions of frustration underline your state of mind at the time – not fear or panic, but an inexplicable and undiluted fury.”Doyle, in the dock, bows his head, as the judge starts to read out a list of the injuries caused in the collision on 26 May 2025.The judge told Doyle: “For no reason other than impatience and arrogance, your driving into the city was routinely dangerous.“In poor weather conditions you repeatedly undertook other vehicles, took road hazards too quickly and drove through traffic lights at a junction.”The judge said that on Dale Street Doyle’s driving was “aggressive and dangerous”, telling him: “You frightened pedestrians, leaning on your horn and shouting obscenities such as ‘get out of the fucking way’.”Judge says the 'crowd did not cause this incident'Judge Andrew Menary KC said the account given by Doyle in his police interview, in which he said he had acted out of panic due to the behaviour of some the crowd, was “demonstrably untrue”.“The position should be stated clearly: The crowd did not cause this incident, they reacted to it, faced with a vehicle being driven directly at them, reversing and striking multiple people,” the judge said.“They had no idea who you were, why you were driving in this manner and whether this was an attack of an even more serious nature.”The judge said the attempt by Doyle to blame his actions on some of the football supporters on the street were “unfair” and “unfounded”.Judge says Doyle's 'disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding'The judge told Doyle that his “disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding”.He told the defendant It is almost impossible to comprehend how any right-thinking person could act as you did.



The judge added: “Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court.”Judge says Doyle caused 'scenes of devastation' as he 'deliberately' drove into crowdIn his sentencing remarks the judge said that Doyle drove “dangerously” into the city centre of Liverpool during the football celebrations and “deliberately” drove “into and over more than 100 pedestrians”, using his vehicle in a way that transformed it into a “weapon”.“You made the conscious choice to drive past the cones and into the heart of the crowd,” he said.“The footage is truly shocking. It is difficult if not impossible to convey in words alone the scenes of devastation you caused.”“It shows you deliberately accelerating into groups of fans, time and time again.”The sentencing judge describes the Liverpool parade as supposed to having been a day of celebration, but Doyle drove “dangerously” into the “heart of the crowd.”“In a mere two minutes you used your vehicle in a manner that turned it into a weapon... deliberately driving into and over more than 100 pedestrians.”Judge Andrew Menary KC has now begun his sentencing address.Paul Doyle's lawyer says client is 'appalled by own conduct'Doyle, who pleaded guilty last month, is “appalled by his own conduct”, his barrister Simon Csoka continues.His client that day had not left the house with the intention of driving into the crowd and causing harm – he had gone to the parade to help pick up a friend and his friend’s children.His sudden action to turn on the crowd was “unexpected and incomprehensible”.“The spiralling effect of his conduct was utterly unexpected by him and utterly unexpected by all those who know him well.”Doyle 'remorseful' and 'deeply sorry' - lawyerDoyle’s lawyer Simon Csoka KC is now addressing the court.

He says his client accepts full responsibility for his crimes in Liverpool.He is “horrified” and “remorseful, ashamed and deeply sorry for all those who have suffered,” Csoka said.“He accepts full responsibility, he expects no sympathy.”Prosecutor Greaney says that run of convictions in Doyle’s early history would aggravate the seriousness of his offences in Liverpool.However, he said the prosecution also recognised that in the 30 years between his prison release in 1995 and his actions in Liverpool in May, “the defendant had taken steps to live a positive and productive life.” During that period, he was convicted of no offences. He had a family.