Good morning, these are the latest ECHO headlines today.
'Politically connected' arrests sparks row about Liverpool Council's finances
A politician has reported auditors Grant Thornton to a watchdog for allegedly failing to respond to major concerns about the way in which Liverpool City Council was run.
Grant Thornton told a council committee this week that it could only act on concrete information and not on allegations and rumour.
READ MORE: Mum said she 'knew something was wrong' before diagnosis
Councillor Richard Kemp, leader of the city's Liberal Democrats, has accused accountants Grant Thornton of failing to respond to serious concerns raised by his party and others about the running of the local authority prior to the arrest of then Mayor Joe Anderson and the publication of a highly critical government report.
A key section of the letter addressed to Jenny Watson, chair of the ICAEW Regulatory Board reads: "The Caller report showed that no less than 58 out of 60 delegated authority reports within regeneration were wrong in one way or another."
Read more from the letter and the full story here.
Knives carried in 'self defence' and why Liverpool is top for violent crime
Youths carrying knives in 'self-defence', increasing poverty and domestic violence are believed to be amongst the factors putting Liverpool at the top of the charts for hospital admissions due to violence.
The city not only has the unwanted title of highest rate of hospital admissions for violence in England, but its neighbouring borough Knowsley is second, Sefton third, St Helens fourth and Halton fifth, with Wirral slightly further behind at ninth.
The statistics, from data collected by Public Health England, represent the number of admissions per 100,000 of the population between 2017/18 and 2019/20, with Liverpool's standing at 127.7 after 2,055 admissions.
The numbers make for concerning reading and are not lost on those attempting to tackle violence.
Read the full story from out public interest reporter here.
Jailed in Liverpool: Grinning coward, monster rapist and 'living nightmare'
This list includes 18 people locked up for crimes linked to Merseyside this past week.
One judge had to sentence a rapist who went on a first date with a woman then targeted her daughter.
Another judge dealt with a group of crooks caught red handed during a gun handover that went badly wrong.
Courts heard about cowardly men who battered women including pregnant victims.
Meanwhile, other disturbing cases included a teenager who raped and sexually abused two of vulnerable children; a pervert masseur who molested clients; and a rapist described as "every mother's living nightmare".
Here is an overview of some of the most serious cases to have concluded this past week.
