There’s been a lot of speculation over what exactly triggered Paul Doyle to drive his car into the crowds at Liverpool’s title parade last Monday, and we may now have some insight thanks to a close friend of his who spoke to MailOnline.
According to that friend, the 53-year-old ex-Royal Marine ‘panicked’ when his car was surrounded by Liverpool supporters, who opened his car door and ‘grabbed his throat.’
He also had his windows smashed and a bunch of people punching and kicking his car, as footage shows.
Apparently he had just dropped off his wife’s friend and daughter for an appointment, when he decided to follow an ambulance into Water Street as a means to beat traffic.
The friend said: ‘He was trying to get out of the parade and he has panicked.
‘I believe he was doing someone a favour and dropping his wife’s friend and her daughter off for an appointment.
‘He has had the window smashed, people were trying to get into the car, he has had his throat grabbed and he has panicked.’
The friend claimed that Doyle blacked out and has no memory of the incident.
‘He has phoned his wife to tell her what was going on and then he is said to have had a memory blackout.’
The friend also added that he was baffled by police suggestions that Doyle was on drugs at the time, as he doesn’t even drink.
The friend said: ‘He hasn’t had a drink for 20-plus years and I cannot believe he had taken drugs. That is just not him.
‘It is completely out of character. He is a nice lad. He has a heart of gold. I have only just found out and I feel a bit sick.’
The married father-of-three has been in custody, held on suspicion of multiple attempted murders, driving under the influence of drugs and dangerous driving, since the incident, and was denied bail as the judge deemed him to be too much of a flight risk. Although it could also be for his own safety, given how many Scousers would be after him the moment he’s let back onto the streets.
In fact the friend also mentioned that Doyle’s wife, who is a Sunday school teacher, and children had since left the £300,000 family home.
In total, 79 people were injured, with 50 hospitalised. The youngest victim was just nine-years-old and the eldest was 78. All 79 victims were British, which is an interesting tidbit that Merseyside Police decided to share.
So this new information (if true) suggests that the ex-Royal Marine commando went into fight or flight mode after having his throat grabbed and car attacked in the middle of the parade, surrounded by thousands of Scousers. Of course, that doesn’t excuse what he did and he shouldn’t have even been there in his car in the first place, but it does perhaps explain his motivation in that moment.
The silver lining to this horror incident is that no one was killed, which is something of a miracle. I wonder what impact that will have on Paul Doyle’s sentencing as the court case continues. Furthermore, does this incident spell the end for public parades in Britain as we know them? That would suck.
For more information about Paul Doyle, his education and work history, click HERE.
