Paul Doyle, the man who was accused of driving into a group of Liverpool supporters during their Premier League title-winning parade in May, has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges, including dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Arne Slot’s men were joined by thousands of the Anfield faithful on 29 May – but the celebrations were cut short when a man, later named as dad-of-three Doyle, drove through the crowds on Water Street, a road which is situated in Liverpool City Centre.
Doyle, a 53-year-old man from Croxteth, Liverpool, was arrested on the scene as in excess of 134 people – including a total of eight children – were injured when a grey Ford Galaxy drove through the crowds in an act that clouded over a memorable occasion.
Man Accused Of Driving Through Liverpool Parade Pleads Not Guilty
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Doyle’s legal team had faced significant difficulties in terms of being able to get face-to-face contact with their client in prison. They reportedly faced weeks-long waits to visit/hold conferences over videolink. Doyle’s defence, Simon Csoka KC, said: “The system just isn’t working.”
Csoka KC also suggested that Belmarsh Prison had still not arranged for Doyle to have access to a laptop so that he could view CCTV footage and other digital evidence of the crime, per a report from the BBC.
Doyle wiped tears from his eyes as Mr Csoka described the problems the defence had faced; the prison’s approach had been “incomprehensible” and the defence had faced “impenetrable red tape” in getting a laptop to Doyle, Csoka said.
At one point during Thursday’s hearing, Doyle is said to have appeared to have been wiping away tears during legal discussions. Reportedly, the alleged offender wore a grey prison issue jumper and glasses, with his dark hair slicked back. At the time of writing, he was remanded in custody and is now due to go on trial on 25 November.
The allegations against Doyle, as mentioned, relate to 29 alleged victims aged between six months and 77 years. He faces 18 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent against five children, including two infants aged six and seven months, plus victims aged 10, 13 and 17 years.
