“What we are about to display on the screens is truly shocking,” prosecutor Paul Greaney KC warned. A momentary silence fell and all eyes turned to the flat-screen televisions displayed in courtroom 4 at Liverpool Crown Court.
For months, they’d relived the harrowing ordeal of the Liverpool parade tragedy through nightmares and flashbacks. Now the victims of Paul Doyle were about to witness the devastation all over again.
One-hundred-and-forty seconds was all that was shown – but it was enough.
Beginning in Liverpool city centre, the dashcam footage from Doyle’s Ford Galaxy first showed him driving aggressively and dangerously towards a flow of supporters leaving the victory parade. At one point, a person dragged a child out of the 1.9-tonne car’s advance, drawing a gasp from some inside the court.
But then it got worse, as everyone inside the courtroom – including me – knew.
After Doyle decided to leave a queue of traffic and steer through a gap in traffic cones, the footage showed him accelerate into the heart of the crowd, hitting any person, young and old, who was unable to get out of his way.
The screams of panic from supporters could be heard. Some bounced onto the bonnet, the horror in their faces clear from the footage. Others could be seen being thrown to the ground by the car’s impact.
Shockingly, a 10-year-old girl was hit, as Doyle could be heard shouting “f***ing hell, move”. Seconds later, a pram was struck with a five-month-old baby inside.
In the courtroom, after each time someone was hit, eyes appeared to widen further. Some found the graphic footage too hard to watch and chose to look away. Others wept. In the dock, Doyle was seen in tears, his head bowed.
In the press gallery, hardened journalists, with more than a century of court-reporting experience between them, took deep breaths as the disturbing footage finally came to an end.
Too violent, too distressing, it was decided not to release it in full to the public, and for good reason.
But the court – including Judge Andrew Menary KC – had to be shown the footage to understand the extent of offending by Doyle, who, faced with the overwhelming evidence, decided to plead guilty to 31 charges on the second day of his trial.
Later, in his sentencing, Judge Menary summed up what happened.
“You struck people head-on, knocked others onto the bonnet, drove over limbs, crushed prams, and forced those nearby to scatter in terror,” he said. “You ploughed on, at speed and over a considerable distance, violently knocking people aside or simply driving over them.
“Person after person after person.”
In a harrowing first day of sentencing, more clips were shown to the court, including mobile phone footage and CCTV, leaving no doubt in the minds of those present about the level of devastation Doyle caused.
One segment showed a baby being picked up from an upside-down pram, miraculously surviving without injury, another showed a young boy pulled from under the front of the car. Bodies lay across the road.
Next, it was the victims’ opportunity to give their voice.
Out of the 134 people hurt, more than 70 wrote impact statements, describing their physical and psychological injuries. While for many, the injuries to their bodies had healed, the impact on their mental health was lasting.
Harrowing stories of nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks and diminished confidence were bravely shared in the courtroom. Victims included a woman who had fled the war in Ukraine and a victim of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.
One woman, writing on behalf of herself and her husband, addressed Doyle directly in her statement. She said: “Don’t sit in the dock and cry for yourself. Be brave and take accountability for what you did.”
Then, when Doyle was sentenced on Tuesday, many of the victims held on to each other before letting out a whispered cheer when the prison term was delivered. “Justice for the victims,” the mother of one-year-old victim Teddy Eveson later told me.
Finally, after hours of evidence on Doyle’s actions, Judge Menary singled out ex-soldier Daniel Barr, who he said showed “outstandingly brave” actions to stop Doyle’s car by jumping inside the back seat and putting the gear stick in “park”.
“Is Mr Barr here,” asked the Judge, before the 41-year-old stood up, before being warmly embraced by some of those around him at the end of the case.
Just under seven months ago, I arrived in the city centre on the morning after incident to be faced with the apocalyptic-like scene of the deserted road covered in debris from the carnage less than 24 hours before.
Returning for the sentence this week, I felt hope from the victims that they could move forward following Doyle’s sentencing. But I also have no doubt that those involved will never be able to forget the horror of 26 May 2025.
