Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims has defended the policing of the Liverpool FC victory parade during which a car was used to plough through crowds of fans.
The senior officer told reporters on Tuesday there had been a “robust” traffic plan in place for the event, including the closure of the road, Water Street, where the attack took place.
She said there was no intelligence to suggest an attack was being planned and armed police officers were present as a safety measure.
So-called hostile vehicle mitigation, that is planning how to protect the public against attacks using cars, is a key part of preparing for large-scale events.
It came into sharp focus following the terror attacks in London on Westminster and London bridges, and outside a mosque in Finsbury Park in 2017.
Merseyside Police have said the driver of the car tailgated an ambulance as it drove onto the closed road where someone was suffering a suspected heart attack.
Speaking at a press conference, Ms Sims said: “We had worked extensively with event organisers and key partner agencies in the months ahead of the potential parade, and a robust traffic management plan was in place, which included a number of local authority road closures throughout the route and the city centre.
“This included Water Street, which was closed to traffic.
“It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance onto Water Street after the road block was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack.
“As with many large events, with event organisers, we planned for all contingencies, and this included the implementation of road closures to protect pedestrians and an armed policing presence was also in place throughout the day.
“There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place, and as we’ve previously stated the incident is not being treated as terrorism.”
CCTV footage posted online appeared to show cars edging through large crowds of people in nearby Dale Street, which was not closed, prior to the attack.
Earlier, Metro mayor of the Liverpool city region Steve Rotheram said the “big question” was how the car had managed to access the street.
He said: “Water Street was not a route where vehicles were supposed to be using it, it was blocked off.
“At this end of it, which is the direction that it was coming in, towards The Strand, there were literally hundreds of thousands of people here, so no vehicle would have got through anyway.
“And the questions, I suppose, are legitimate, but we have to give the police the time to conclude their investigations, which is what they’re doing.”
