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Quest Means Business
Police Arrest 53-Year-Old White Man In Liverpool Incident; French President Downplays Apparent Shove From His Wife; Liverpool Football Club "In Direct Contact" With Police Following Incident at Parade. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired May 26, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: There is a video now which opens, we're in the middle of bickering and rather joking with my wife, and I'm
surprised by how this becomes a kind of geoplanetary catastrophe.
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: French officials say the moment will likely feed the mills of conspiracy theorists and Russian trolls. It's
already become a target for pro-Russian accounts and Russian state media who viewed it as a possible opportunity to spread misinformation. And this
isn't the first time.
Earlier this month, prominent Kremlin officials claimed Macron was using cocaine on a train trip to Kyiv, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. French officials say a crumpled tissue was mistaken for a bag of drugs. Macron's office debunked the rumor
with humor, tweeting, this is a tissue for blowing your nose. Officials say these efforts are part of a wider Kremlin campaign to undermine Europe's
steadfast support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Now, I'll have more from the events out of Liverpool in just a moment. This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: And good evening to you. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Allow me to bring you the breaking news tonight out of Northwestern England and
Liverpool, where police say they've now arrested a man after he ran into the crowd during Liverpool Football Club's victory parade through the city.
Fans and police can be seen surrounding the car after it is forced to a stop. The authorities say the person arrested is a 53-year-old man from the
Liverpool area. We're still waiting to hear from any news of possible casualties. Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime minister, called the scene
appalling and thanked the emergency responders for a swift response. We're going to hear from the police in roughly 20 minutes from now. Max Foster is
in London. The latest news, the latest developments. Do we have any idea on casualties?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: We don't, we're going to get that at half past, according to the ambulance service. Also some sense hopefully
about what happened here, because everyone wants to know. There's a massive amount of speculation bubbling up online about what happened. I think
that's why the police came out with that very specific statement about a white British man.
They were hoping that would help quell some of the speculation, although, you know, speaking to police officers, former police officers say it might
just set off some other speculation.
The police are really dealing with, you know, how social media plays into these events and trying to keep on top of the narrative.
[17:05:05]
So they've been really proactive about giving what information they can, they're holding this press conference as quickly as possible. And also we
just had the Commissioner of Merseyside Police appealing for people to send the police the videos before they post them online so the police can
investigate this as quickly as possible. But it's really not clear, we do know the ambulances have left the area, so the recovery, you know, the
rescue operation is phase seems to be ending now.
QUEST: The scale of this has been quite enormous. I mean, first of all, I was just looking online, the parade route sort of went round the whole of
the -- sort of in Liverpool, then comes back down round the River Mersey, down through Water Street, and it was just towards the end that this thing
took place.
FOSTER: Yes, and the crowds were everywhere, and so there's a huge amount of witnesses, a lot of information for the police to work on, but you know,
just such so many questions about how a car got into an area. Obviously it's a road, but it was pedestrianized at the time and a huge amount of
questions about how they were able to just drive in there and then move around to the extent of causing injury.
A huge amount of thought went into this event. It was a hugely planned event. It is one of the biggest events in Europe today. So that's a huge
question that the authorities are asking today. I'm sure the police are asking it as well about how it was organized. But it was -- you'll be
heartened to see the message as well from Everton today, Richard.
Obviously, as you know better than anyone, you couldn't have two clubs in greater rivalry, but it really expresses how the whole football world feels
about this event when they express their sympathy with Liverpool today. I think every sports fan is looking at this event and feeling how awful it
must have been to be there because it really -- I was watching the pictures all day. It was this huge, wonderful celebration for Liverpool, you know,
this enormous achievement. And the fans seeing the end day like -- the day end like this.
QUEST: I think the club themselves have put out a statement which I might be able to read for you from Liverpool Football Club, haven't they, Max?
FOSTER: Yeah.
QUEST: And it says our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident. We will continue to offer our full
support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.
FOSTER: Yeah. And you'll be aware as well how -- Liverpool's one of the handful of brands really in football which are truly global. You know, the
audience figures for today's parade were absolutely enormous because large parts of Asia, Africa they look up to Liverpool, you know, the other ones
are Arsenal, Man United as well. This isn't just a UK event, I think this was a global sporting event.
And there were hundreds of thousands of people there and the police are just trying to figure out how on earth it happened and why it happened.
They have got someone, they're describing him as a 53-year-old white British man, but they, as far as we're aware, haven't charged him yet. It's
incredibly early in the investigation. I think a lot of people are going to be tuning in in about 20 minutes time to find out what happened here. As I
say, the police will have a lot of information because there were so many witnesses, so many videos.
QUEST: Max, I'm grateful, thank you very much. Max Foster in London.
Now, Mike Granatt is the Former Head of Civil Contingencies for the British cabinet officer and the Former Director of Public Affairs at the Met. He
joins me now. Mike, I want to just focus or at least look at for this second, the fact that they've put out what seems to be three pieces of
relatively innocuous information: a white male, 53-years-old, but in context of Mersey side that this has been released so far so quickly is
significant and I need you to just explain why.
MIKE GRANATT, FMR. DIR. OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: But the reason it's significant is because there has been -- there was a
terrible incident recently in a place called Southport, not that far away from Liverpool, where three girls were murdered by somebody who's been
convicted. And social media latched onto the identity, the supposed identity of this perpetrator very quickly and described him as an
immigrant.
And this was taken up by far-right activists who stirred up trouble right around the country and hatred against immigrants and attacks on hostels
where refugees were being housed on the basis that this person had been an immigrant who'd attacked these three British girls, when the truth was
actually he was born in this country.
[17:10:08]
And I think the lesson learned there and the lesson that was spread by the Inspectorate of Constabulary here very quickly was to tell police forces
that they had to get the facts out very quickly to quell the chances of false information being exploited politically.
QUEST: And we've got that already happening. So now we move in, you know, as the Former Head of Civil Contingencies, you're well aware of how the
Cabinet Office will have responded and reacted, and we've already heard from the Prime Minister and others. Give me an idea of what happens the
moment this sort of incident takes place?
GRANATT: Well, the moment this sort of incident takes place, the police force involved will immediately tell its counter-terrorism section because
it looks like it might be terrorism. Anything that looks like it might be terrorist, they'll tell them. That information will be flashed around the
country, including to government and to the security agencies to make sure that any information that can be gathered is gathered very quickly and
everybody is alerted.
And people from the very top of government down to working level in the agencies will know about it very quickly indeed. And the priorities will
become very clear. Firstly, I mean, obviously the first priority is to make people safe. The second one is to catch this perpetrator and find out as
much as possible about them, who they might be connected to, what might be behind this.
And the third one, but basically equally important is to get as many facts that are consistent with the legal priorities here, the protection of the
investigation. Get it out to people to stop these rumors flying around. I mean, there was an old phrase, it goes back a thousand years, that a lie
will go twice around the world before truth gets its boots on. These days, I think it's rather more times around the world.
QUEST: Right. Can you just then -- when this happens? How does everybody prevent themselves from falling over each other? Who's in charge?
GRANATT: The local police force are in charge. It's their investigation, they're on the ground, they know what's happening, they've got the facts.
QUEST: Right.
GRANATT: Other people will row in behind them and they'll ask for information. The local police service, in this case, Merseyside, will take
charge and will get things running into place. Other people might be pulled in very quickly, for example, counter-terrorist resources from both the
security agencies and from Scotland Yard in London and the National Crime Agency. But basically the control is local.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you, sir. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. I appreciate it. This is CNN. I'll have more in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:15:28]
QUEST: King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Canada for a two-day visit. Charles is Head of State and King of Canada. He's just met the
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the capital in Ottawa. While he's there, and it's a very short 26-hour visit or something, the King will
attend the state opening of Parliament on Tuesday, where he will open Parliament and deliver remarks as Canada's Head of State.
The whole thing is being seen as a strong show of support for Canada as it struggles with trade tensions and annexation threats from U.S., as
President Trump calls it the 51st state.
Paula is with me, Paula Newton. There cannot be a stronger show than this. I mean, I think it was 1977 that the Queen last opened Parliament. So the
fact that new Prime Minister asks new King to hop on a plane for 22 hours an open parliament which is normally -- which could actually have been
highly controversial in previous circumstances. And now everybody's saying what a good idea. Well, a lot of people are saying what a good idea.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly many Canadians, Richard, are saying what a good idea. Listen, Queen Camilla and King Charles got off the
airplane. Brilliant weather, great crowds. They really couldn't have asked for a better opener here. And again, who is going to be the closer, as you
point out, King Charles and that speech from the throne.
And, you know, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been very blunt about why he asked the King to do this, is to reinforce Canada's sovereignty. And it is,
in fact, Richard, in response to comments by President Donald Trump on Canada, would be better off being the 51st state.
The sentiment within Canada, though, Richard, even from those that are not crazy about Canada being a constitutional monarchy is that, what is the
king good for, if not for this? And for that reason, as you see there, the King and the Queen -- and the King is still obviously undergoing treatment
for cancer. It is a very quick visit, but he himself obviously thought it was right and proper that he come and he deliver that throne speech.
QUEST: You see that under the rules of a constitutional monarchy, the King only operates or only acts on the advice of ministers, i.e. prime
ministers. Now in this case, I mean, at one level, the King doesn't really have much choice. If Mark Carney says, I want you to come and open
Parliament, he's got to do it. But it is a very strong, very strong reaffirmation of constitutional monarchy that Carney says, would you turn
up here, please, open Parliament? I need you to do that. And the King says, I'm on the way.
NEWTON: Absolutely. And it is good for King Charles --
QUEST: Yes, absolutely.
NEWTON: -- at this point in time. Absolutely. It was a good idea, again, reinforcing the ability of that monarchy and the constitutional monarchy.
And again, there has been a very blunt showing by Mark Carney. I couldn't believe, Richard, when Mark Carney sat down with Sky News and said he was
annoyed with the UK government for extending an invitation for a second official visit by Donald Trump, which will happen, I believe, in September.
Listen, this is a way for Prime Minister Mark Carney --
QUEST: Right.
NEWTON: -- to underscore the fact that Canada is sovereign. Charles is the King. And these are the new dimensions of our relationship with the United
States.
QUEST: Can I just -- because you and I have covered royalty, monarchy and the realms as they're known. Whatever the country may think of Charles, the
royal family has extraordinary affection for Canada and Australia and others, but Canada's the one that they've been to the most and they go to
frequently.
NEWTON: They do because of that enthusiastic welcome, even from Canadians who maybe do not really believe in the constitutional monarchy. I'll leave
you with this thought, Richard. As you know, the popularity of the monarchy less so in Quebec. I was in Quebec last week. I couldn't believe how many
people supported this move, even if they do not support Canada being a constitutional monarchy.
QUEST: Paula, I'm grateful. You're in New York. I mean, you can't be in two places at once. We've tried to --
NEWTON: I will catch a flight. I will be there for the speech in Ottawa tomorrow.
QUEST: Oh, you will be.
NEWTON: Absolutely, 100%.
QUEST: Well, don't let me stop you. There's a few of you --
NEWTON: You did stop me a bit, but fair enough. Go as you go --
QUEST: (Inaudible).
NEWTON: Go on.
QUEST: All right. Thank you, I'll carry on. Thank you, Ma'am. Thank you.
All right, it's a very busy day and I need to bring back to the main story and to bring to the latest details.
[17:20:00]
In about 10 minutes we should get a news conference about the event where a man arrested after the car he was driving hit a crowd during Liverpool
Football Club's victory parade. According to the authorities, and we'll get confirmation of all of this in soon enough, is a 53-year-old man from
Liverpool, white man from Liverpool area. The authorities will tell us exactly what where, when and how, or at least what they can.
The Liverpool Football Club says it's in direct contact with the police. Our Senior Sport Analyst Darren Lewis is with me, joins me now. Well,
extraordinary events. You are uniquely positioned, sir, to be able to draw, if you will, the politics, the geopolitics, the security and indeed the
sport aspect of it, because this was a massive day in Liverpool.
DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORT ANALYST: Yeah. Hi there, Richard. And this really has rocked the city of Liverpool to its core, the country to its
core. It clearly is a major incident. But to give you the context you asked for at 24 hours ago, the party was in full swing at Anfield in Liverpool,
where the football club was celebrating their second Premier League title in five years. Tonight, there's shock, anger, despair at the scenes
involving that black SUV that have really shocked the stunned the country and left so many people even further beyond in disbelief.
For context, here in England there are a number of football clubs who at this stage of the season of the year, they celebrate winning leagues or
winning tournaments and they have open top bus parades which really produced scenes like the ones we saw today before the tragedy where the
roads are packed with fans who are trying to get gain every vantage point they can to get a glimpse of their heroes.
All of those people who have been involved in those open top bus parades thus far will be thinking there but for the grace of God. And I wonder if
this may well go on to change the way that the security provision is made to protect those people attending.
What we do know, and you've been reporting it so far, is that a 53-year-old British man has been arrested and we don't know much more beyond that, but
from a sporting point of view there are lots of questions that need to be answered.
QUEST: Can I just take you on this point about the clearly from a policing point of view they're going to have to look at how, where, what, when and
why a car was able to get to the thing. But from a, if you will, celebratory point of view and from a sporting point of view it would be a
tremendous tragedy if this event, which is part of the folklore of winning and even the losing team sometimes gets a bus tour around the city, it
would be a tremendous tragedy if whoever did these sort of things won and we had to give those up.
LEWIS: I think you're absolutely right and it is something that will be considered. That said, the scenes that we saw today were utterly horrendous
and nobody who has had a look at them will be of any other opinion that the security of those people attending is paramount.
QUEST: Let's just talk football for one second. I want to end on a sort of a little more optimistic note as we wait for more details. Liverpool's had
a very good run. I mean, they didn't do terribly well in some parts of competition, but to have gone this far and get the Premier League, do you
attribute it to the new guy?
LEWIS: You do. He was bequeathed a wonderful squad of footballers by his predecessor, the German Jurgen Klopp. But Arne Slot, the Dutchman, he
arrived from the Dutch Club Feyenoord and he put his ego first. He put the talent of the players -- sorry, he put his ego second, the talent of the
players --
QUEST: I got it. I got it. Don't worry. I understood what you were saying there.
LEWIS: And really he has been simply outstanding so far this season. Just two defeats on the way to winning a second title in five years. Absolutely
outstanding, Richard, from him.
QUEST: Sure.
LEWIS: And that's why there have been so many celebrations.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you and we'll talk more and --
LEWIS: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: -- hopefully on happier occasions but I'm grateful that you were able to put it all into much more context for us because -- the authorities
in Liverpool are set to give a press conference in just a moment or two and when that happens of one thing you can be certain you'll see it here, right
here. (Inaudible)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:27:57]
QUEST: The scene is being set. There you are. It is late at night in Merseyside coming up to 10:30 at night and what we are waiting for is the
news conference that's due to begin from Merseyside police. They promise us at 10 30. Let's see if they try and keep to that.
The news conference will be led by the assistant chief constable, which is the chief constable is known as -- the chief of police is known as the
chief constable. It's the Assistant Chief Constable, Jenny Sims, who will be leading that particular one, a senior officer with the force who has a
lot of experience somewhat ironically dealing with vehicle crime. She's a national leading expert and the lead on vehicle crime coordinating
strategies for vehicle related offences in the UK.
And Anna Stewart, I'm not sure when they talk about vehicle related offences, they're actually talking about these sort of terror attacks as
such rather than stolen cars. But they are experienced, they know what they're doing and we're going to be hearing from them shortly.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And there are a number of things we're hoping to hear. We're eager to get more information. Of course, critically,
how many people were injured and what is the nature of the injuries? How gravely serious are they? The videos have been circulating on social media
of this awful plowing into crowds is truly horrific. So that's, of course, what we want to know.
Also, I don't get much detail, but, you know, why was this car plowing into crowds? What was the motive? Was it an accident? All these questions will
be asked. They may not get answered. But what's going to be really interesting is to see how Merseyside police deal with what will undoubtedly
be speculation regarding the motive behind it, given the issue we had in Southport last summer. That was the --
QUEST: That's --
STEWART: -- stabbing spree with three little girls that were murdered. And because there was a lack of information --
QUEST: Right.
STEWART: -- it quickly became a social media phenomenon and it ended up with riots.
QUEST: Max, I want -- but either of you. Start with you, Max. Then you're on a damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you don't give the
information and you end up with a sort of a South Port.
[17:30:01]
Horrific crime. Absolutely. I mean, unthinkable crime. But with a strong reaction, if you don't give the information, you could end up without. If
you do give the information, you can end up prejudicing a case or going a step too far. No easy solutions, Max Foster.
FOSTER: No, but it is a fundamental shift, isn't it? So the whole idea of not creating speculation is why they never gave us much information before.
They're now effectively saying, okay, there's going to be speculation and conspiracy if we don't say anything, but they're also going to find it if
they do, because there's going to be a whole load of other conspiracy about why a white middle-aged man might do something like this before we've even
done it.
It's that gap, you know, conspiracy theories breed in this gap of information, which is you know, where, you know, the likes of us are just
sticking to the facts and then people are looking online to try to find something and then people are coming up with alternative narratives. So
it's really down to the police giving us the information first and us passing it on.
And they have scrambled this press conference together pretty quickly when you consider the scale of the event. I think it's exactly what Anna has
been speaking to, you know, trying to get as much information out as possible. But the British legal system doesn't always allow it. You know,
if they could be accused of prejudicing a trial in future, if they give too much information early on before it's proven.
QUEST: And on that point, that difficulty of how much to say and when to say it. Anna Stewart, balancing it because we've had many cases in the UK
where subsequently defendants have claimed, A, it was either unfair and they couldn't get a fair trial or B, the evidence was tainted as a result.
So everybody's on their metal. But I wonder, you know, Max just said then about that we'll get the information tonight, we'll broadcast what they've
told us and everything. The task then is to make sure people understand or accept that what we're telling people is true.
STEWART: And that is a particularly difficult situation right now in an environment of social media and claims of fake news. But we're hoping that
this press conference will make it very clear what we know and what we don't know. And of course, there will also be plenty of questions, I
imagine, as to how a car was able to drive through crowds in this sort of huge event where hundreds of thousands of people were expected --
QUEST: Right.
STEWART: -- to be there for a victory parade. And it wasn't just this one car. According to videos, it appears several cars were trying to move
through these crowds. So there will be a lot of questions for the police and for security as to how this happened in the first place.
QUEST: I've looked at the route, Max. It sort of goes round and it starts over here down at Anfield, the crowd, the stadium. It sort of wanders its
way round the city, enters the city center and as it comes down past the River Mersey, around Water Street, that's where it happened. So, you know,
this was a 10 mile, 15 kilometer route or so and the event that we're talking about happens quite late on.
FOSTER: Yeah, so I mean that's the great sadness, isn't it? It was a wonderful day and it ended like this but it also suggests at the end of the
route cars would have been closer, you know, that was where cars would have been closer to the parade because it was ending there. And there was a huge
amount of chaos. It's just the, you know, the question we're asking is why that car went into the crowd.
You know, there are, you know, criminal conspiracy theories, accident conspiracy theories, all of this. We don't know at the moment, but there
could be many reasons why a car, as you say, and other cars were in the crowd and how they reacted in the way that they did once they got into the
crowd. So that's why we're having to be really careful here because there could be a very complex explanation here or very simple explanation here.
QUEST: We'll come back to you two in just a second and talk about the previous incidents. I'm thinking of Nice, Vancouver, Berlin, Magdeburg.
We'll come back in just a second and discuss that. I want to get the sort of, in a sense, sporting aspect to it.
Patrick Snell is with me. Patrick, I'll apologize if I have to interrupt you while you're talking if this news conference gets underway, but you can
probably see pictures of it as well as I can. And this was a celebratory day. Liverpool have done extremely well.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, you're absolutely right. And, you know, it meant to be a day of celebration, of jubilation. I used to live
and work in the Liverpool area. I was a student there and the passion for the beautiful game is second to none. It's such a passionate city, both the
red and the blue half of the city, no question about that. Reportedly, in excess of a million people out there during the 10-mile victory parade with
some of the sport's biggest names, some of the most iconic footballers in the world, on that open-top bus parade, including Egyptian star, the iconic
Mo Salah as well.
[17:35:10]
But I do want to point out, Richard, at times like these, we see the world of football, the beautiful game coming together as one. Rivalries are put
to one side. You know, rival clubs like Everton, Manchester United as well, Liverpool's biggest rivals coming together as one, expressing support. And
that is really, really good to see at times like this.
You know, Liverpool had clinched the Premier League title a few weeks back, so we knew this big day was coming. Fans had most likely been getting into
position, Richard, hours before it, just to get a sense, just to get the best view of it all. And this day just ending in a really, really bleak and
dire way.
QUEST: I've got the statement from Liverpool from the club, and I know there's a statement also been out from Everton. Let me read you the
Liverpool statement first. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who've been affected by this serious incident we will continue to offer our full
support to the emergency services and the local authorities who are dealing with the incident.
And I know that Everton the rival, by the way as I think you know Patrick, I was born and brought up in Liverpool, lived the first dozen years of my
life there, it's been most of those early years deciding which team to support. But be that may -- tonight there is no team to support. They're
all in one, aren't they? They're all support --
SNELL: The beautiful game of sport coming together is that rivalries put to one side. We've also just had reaction from NBA superstar LeBron James,
Richard. He's a part owner of Liverpool. A short while ago, James taking to social media with this. My deepest thoughts and prayers goes out to
everyone affected that attended Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade today. Such a senseless act. That's NBA superstar LeBron James within the
last few minutes, Richard.
QUEST: So across the board tonight there are these messages. And Darren, I want to come to you. You're still with me, Darren, I hope. There you are,
Darren. Darren, Liverpool Football Club, it's actually owned by the Fenway Sports Group, it's an American group. It was bought and sold many years
ago, 2010, large sum of money but not by today's standards. To the extent that these clubs are major brands, and I use that, I mean that's a gross
understatement, I get it. Liverpool is way up there, isn't it?
LEWIS: Oh absolutely, I mean I've been on pre-season tours with Liverpool as a football club to far-flung places such as Malaysia, all over the world
I'll be honest with you, Richard, and the brand of Liverpool stretches far beyond these shores and they've worked incredibly really hard to cultivate
that supporter base which is now global. And so this news that's affected this city will stretch far beyond these shores. And it's really important
to note that because even before the Fenway Sports Group had taken over Liverpool, this is a club with a storied history.
They are the winners of six Champions Leagues. It's the biggest trophy in European football. It was previously called the European Cup. They are one
of the most successful sides in Premier League history. They are the club of a number of luminaries, legendary figures in British football. And
that's a big part of the reason why they have that supporter base which stretches far beyond England.
And it would have been a big reason why the Fenway Sports Group saw the potential given the ailing state it had been in under their previous
custodians and decided that they would take it over. Now all of that context, as you rightly point out, Richard, is so important because this is
one of the biggest football clubs on the planet, enjoying one of their biggest and best days for many decades, and then suddenly this. And it's
something that transcends football, sport, and will affect every area of this country.
QUEST: According to Forbes, Forbes says it's the fourth most valuable football club in the world, valuing it at something like five and a third
billion, something like that. I can't confirm those numbers, but it's extraordinary. And what's interesting, Darren, is that that number has gone
up considerably because of the success.
LEWIS: Absolutely. They've invested well, they've brought in a wide variety of talented players from across the globe to play in this country, and they
have taken it to the top of English football.
[17:40:02]
Had been at the top of European football a few years ago when they were winners of the Champions League and there have been big plans to go even
further.
QUEST: Something's being handed out at that press conference that we need to find out about and Max Foster will help us understand. Thank you,
Darren. I'll be with you back in just a second. It looks like some sort of statement is being handed out. What the picture you're looking at on the
screen is the news conference that was supposed to start about 10 minutes ago in Liverpool. And that chap just sort of came in, it looks like he's
somewhat official because he's got a thing around his neck.
You're joining us of course and you're seeing it in the same time that I am and when we find out what exactly has just been handed out it looks like
some sort of press statement, we will bring it to you. Max Foster, you're watching this as well as I am, I'm aware that you're none the wiser on what
it is. But it does suggest if they're handing out pieces of paper like that, that we might be getting close to the news conference starting.
FOSTER: Yeah, so we've seen a lot there, but we do have agencies we're working with there. So we'll get that information as soon as possible. It's
probably going to be embargoed, as we call it, until the statement starts. But they've clearly got a sheet of paper. So the police, as we were saying,
are just trying to get as much information out there as possible to try to resolve people's fears and worries that are bubbling up online today.
So I think obviously the main event is how many people were injured, how serious are those injuries, thoughts obviously with everyone involved here
and then it becomes who was the person who caused this and why did they cause it? And that is probably the bigger debate that's going to go on
today because whatever they say today there's going to be some sort of speculation around it and they're not giving enough information but you
know they're watching it live and these are the police investigators.
QUEST: Let's talk about the politics of it. We've got the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has released a statement this evening. He says,
and this is from the PM, the scenes in Liverpool are appalling. My thoughts are with all those injured or affected. I want to thank the police and
emergency services for this swift and ongoing response, this shocking incident. I'm being kept updated on all developments.
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also been speaking and saying that obviously she's been watching and writing. We have here seasoned
politicians. I mean, they might not have been in government long but the Prime Minister is the Former Chief Prosecutor in Britain, Former Head of
the DPP, Director of Public Prosecutions and Yvette Cooper has been around these sort of things for some years so they know what they're doing in a
sense when handling something as sensitive as this?
FOSTER: Absolutely. And I'm sure the conversation is going on. I was speaking to a former police commander earlier from the Metropolitan Police
and he said, you know, they will escalate these things very quickly if they're concerned. So the Prime Minister would have been told and it was
quite significant that he came out very quickly and said that he was being briefed. So he's, you know, it's a national holiday here in the UK today
but he is obviously from that legal background so he wants to be able to be very clear on what he's saying.
It's also off the back of everything that happened at Southport, and you've been talking about that earlier in the show, where if they don't get a
handle of this quickly and the speculation goes on then you have demonstrations and more violence and more crime that comes off the back of
these events if there indeed was some crime today. You know, these things can blow up beyond control. So I'm sure he's fully supportive of the police
giving as much information as possible.
They're a bit late currently, about 15 minutes late. But to be fair, this only happened, what was it, four hours ago? So it's pretty impressive that
they're out there with the ambulance service giving a full briefing now.
QUEST: I'm just trying to find out if anything is starting to move to bring up today, so do forgive me for looking away. Max stay with me, I'm
grateful. If you have just joined me this evening, it's coming up to a quarter to 11 at night in the United Kingdom. The breaking news tonight,
the police say they've arrested a man after a car ran into a crowd during a Liverpool Football Club's victory parade.
We're not showing you the moment or at least the video of the awfulness that took place. It is fairly horrific and horrendous. The fans and police,
it is on social media, fans and police were seen surrounding the car after it came to a halt. There is video also of the destruction within the car
from the fans, broken windows and the like.
According to the Northwest Ambulance Service in England the scene has now been cleared of all. Authorities are describing the man that they have
arrested as a 53-year-old man from the Liverpool area and the news conference that we are expecting is due to take place anytime now.
[17:45:09]
There you see it.
Again, I think Max is right. I think that Max is right when he says that the piece of paper that was being given out was probably an embargoed
statement of some sort that's probably embargoed until the news conference begins. The only thing I'll assure you of is that we will stay with this
and we'll be there for when the moment that news conference begins. But whilst we do wait and just ponder of course, you know how these things go
as soon as we move away from the story it'll all go funny and then they'll actually start.
But anyway, we'll turn to Gaza now where the U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says a ceasefire and hostage deal is on the table and that Hamas
should take it. It is a proposal that would return half of the living and half of the deceased hostages in exchange for a temporary truce. Mr.
Witkoff did not specify how long the ceasefire would last. He did say he would preside over negotiations for a permanent end to the fighting.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for most of southern Gaza. It's talking about what it's calling an unprecedented
attack. What that means, who on Earth knows. But Gaza officials say the Israeli airstrike in the area killed nine children on Friday. Her mother
was a doctor who was working in the emergency room when their bodies were brought in. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on this story and I need to warn
you, it is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Alaa al-Najjar is used to seeing the horrors of war in Gaza. She's an emergency room doctor in Khan Younis. But
the charred bodies that arrived at her hospital on Friday were of her own children. She'd left them at home just hours earlier to go to work. Nine of
her 10 children were killed in an Israeli airstrike. One son and her husband cling to life, according to Nasser Hospital. Her brother-in-law
describes the moment she found out.
One of the civil defense workers was handing me one of the bodies, he says. She was standing next to me and recognized it. She said, this is Raval
(ph), give her to me. Her instinct as a mother, as if her daughter was still alive, she asked to hold her in her arms.
Rescuers searched the smoking debris of the house to recover seven of the nine bodies and say the children were aged from seven months to 12 years.
Family says the 10 children were at home when Dr. Najjar's husband Hamdi (ph) dropped her off at work then went to find food for them all. When he
returned he saw an Israeli missile strike hit his home they say which failed to detonate. He rushed inside to rescue his children and was injured
when a second strike hit.
Hospital staff say despite the unimaginable loss, Dr. Najjar continues to work while also checking on her husband and her 11-year-old son Adam. Her
brother-in-law says she is now caught between the dead, her only surviving child and her husband who is between life and death. May God grant her
patience and grant us patience too.
The Israeli military says its aircraft had, quote, struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF
troops in the area of Khan Younis. It said it was reviewing the claim civilians had been killed. Nine members of one family gone in an instant.
As it has been since day one of this war, children bear the brunt of the never-ending violence. Paula Hancock's CNN Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Max is -- excuse me, Max is with me again. That piece of paper, we now know what it is. It's the leader of Liverpool City Council. The
statement that he has put out, I believe you may have a copy of it as well. I've got one in front of me.
FOSTER: No, I don't. Go for it.
QUEST: Oh, well, then I apologize. Then I do. The Counselor, Liam Robinson, he says, today's events have cast a very dark shadow over what's been a
joyous day and the finale of a fabulous bank holiday weekend pays (ph) tribute to call.
And this is interesting one. He says, I would appeal for people. Please do not share the horrifying footage of the incident on social media. Please,
if you have information, forward it to the Merseyside Police to help them with their investigation. We won't be coming any further. Liverpool is a
city proud tradition of coming together during challenging times.
Let me focus with you on this thing of asking people not to, because I have seen videos, you'll have seen it as well, you know, people doing reels and
things actually walking around the car after it had just been stopped. But the authorities, Max, saying do not share the videos.
[17:50:00]
FOSTER: Yeah, that's two reasons because it's tasteless because there are people there, if they're filming people who are injured and sharing it
that's pretty tasteless as they're lying being rescued. If there are people severely injured their families haven't even been told yet or their friends
and so they are finding out from social media which is horrific. And there's also the wider issue that the police need those videos to
investigate. So they want them to be sent to the police so they can actually figure out what happened. But it just doesn't seem to be the
priority of some people who would rather get their views.
QUEST: Now, police say reports started coming in just after six p.m. A witness said he saw the car approaching. It went past a parked police van
at a decent speed, travelling down the street towards and then the rest is just the horrible things. This is going to be quite an investigation, isn't
it?
FOSTER: Yeah, it is. But they do have a huge amount of evidence because of these videos and because of the people who were there. So they're going to
get a very clear picture if they get to the right people. Of course, they do expect people to come forward, which is appealing for the videos. I
mean, they had to clear that area of thousands of people rapidly, and it was a really tough and they've now got to go and track them back down
again. But I'm sure a lot of people have been obviously acting responsibly and trying to help the police as much as possible.
QUEST: Max, stay with me please, we have got a lot more that I want to talk to you about in terms of as we get more information. Darren is still with
us. I want to focus with you sir, that statement by the Head of Liverpool City Council, Liam Robinson, that last line about Liverpool has a history
of coming together in challenging times. I grew up in the city and you know, you're one side or the other, red or blue, you came from the posh bit
or the other bit. But everybody's sort of won tonight.
LEWIS: Yes, they are indeed as one. There have been messages of support by the other club, if you like, the other Premier League club in Liverpool
Everton that have sent their messages or support and condolences across other Premier League clubs as well --
QUEST: Let me interrupt you. Let me interrupt you. Do forgive me. I know you'll forgive me. Let me interrupt you. The news conference that we've
been waiting for is about to begin. It's being led by the Assistant Chief Constable, Jenny Sims.
JENNY SIMS, LIVERPOOL ASST. CHIEF CONSTABLE: Good evening. I'm Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims from Merseyside Police. Firstly, my thoughts are
with all those injured in tonight's horrific incident, their family and friends and all of those affected by the terrible tragedy that has taken
place today. I want to thank all of the emergency services, partner agencies and members of the public who came to the assistance of the
injured following this evening's shocking incident, which we declared a major incident.
This had been a joyous day in Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club's victory
parade. Sadly, at six o'clock this evening, as the parade was drawing to a close, we received reports that a car had been in a collision with a number
of pedestrians on Water Street in Liverpool City Centre. A number of people have been injured and were taken to hospital.
In addition, a large number of people of all ages were treated at the scene that did not require hospital treatment. Specialist officers have been put
in place to support the injured and their families. Our emergency service colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service and Mersey Fire and Rescue
Service also attended the scene and will be able to provide further updates.
The car stopped at the scene and a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested. We believe him to be the driver of the
vehicle. Extensive inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision, and it is vital that people do not speculate
or spread misinformation on social media. I know that people will understandably be concerned by what has happened tonight. What I can tell
you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it.
The incident is not being treated as terrorism.
[17:55:00]
We would ask that people refrain from sharing distressing footage from the incident online and please share any information directly with our
investigation team. Information including video footage can be passed on via the Merseyside Major Incident Police Portable. Detail can be found on
the Merseyside Police website.
In the lead up to this event, we have been working closely with event organizer's and a robust traffic management plan was put in place for the
parade, which included a number of road closures throughout the route and the city center. We will provide further updates as soon as we have them.
I'll now hand over to my colleague Dave Kitchin from the North West Ambulance Service.
DAVID KITCHIN, HEAD OF SERVICE, NORTH WEST AMBULANCE SERVICE: Thank you. Good evening, I'm Dave Kitchin, Head of Service for the Cheshire and
Merseyside area of NWAS. All of us at North West Ambulance Service are horrified and saddened that a day of celebration for the people of
Liverpool could end in such terrible circumstances. Our thoughts are with everyone who witnessed the incident and those who have been injured.
As large crowds were expected in the city center today to celebrate Liverpool Football Club's victory, we thankfully had a substantial presence
already in place close to the route, as we would do for any event of this type. Our ambulances, hazardous area response team, MERIT doctors,
Northwest Air Ambulance colleagues and senior clinicians were very quickly on scene to offer aid and treatment. St. John Ambulance also had clinical
teams present to support us throughout the day and were quick to respond and our thanks go to them for their assistance.
Our emergency ambulances took patients to our NHS colleagues at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, Alder Hey, Arrowe Park and Aintree Hospitals. Sadly,
four of the injured were children who were enjoying the day with their friends and their families. We can confirm that our teams treated 20
patients at the scene for minor injuries and these did not need hospital treatment. 27 patients in total were taken to hospital by ambulance, and we
believe two of those, including one of the children, have sustained serious injuries.
Our cyclist paramedic, who was on scene, was also unfortunately struck by the vehicle, but I'm pleased to report that no injuries were sustained. We
also know that some patients have self-presented at local hospitals following the incident. We're working closely with our partners at
Merseyside Police and share their appeal for calm.
This is indeed an appalling incident and we understand that people will be deeply upset. The people of Liverpool have shown many times before that you
are a strong community and you support one another. All of us at North West Ambulance Service share with you the frustration that this wonderful day
has ended like this and we hope that those who have been injured make a speedy recovery.
We'd also like to extend our thanks to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Police, both of whom assisted in the tending to the injured
in a very rapid sequence, as did many of the supporters in the city center. As well as our NHS colleagues who will continue the treatment, everybody
has played their part today. At this point I'd just like to pass over to Nick Searle, the Chief Fire Officer. Thank you.
NICK SEARLE, CHIEF FIRE OFFICER, MERSEYSIDE FIRE AND RESCUE: Good evening. Firstly, our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the
incident this evening. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were informed at 18:07 hours. We immediately mobilized three fire engines to Water Street
and were in attendance in four minutes.
On arrival, the crews were met with numerous injured people of four persons trapped under a vehicle. Our crews rapidly lifted the vehicle, removed
three adults and one child from beneath and passed them to our ambulance service colleagues. We then worked with emergency service partners to
ensure casualties received medical treatment and transport to hospital as quickly as possible. My fire crews will maintain a visible and reassuring
presence in the coming days and weeks. I'll hand you over to Liam Robinson from Liverpool City Council.
LIAM ROBINSON, LIVERPOOL COUNCIL LEADER: Thank you. I'd like to start by saying on behalf of everyone here in Liverpool how much our thoughts and
prayers are with those affected by this appalling incident in the city center today. It's cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day
for the city and the finale to a fabulous bank holiday weekend. Particularly, would like to pay tribute to the emergency services who
responded to help those who were hurt and to our NHS staff treating them in hospital.
We are working very closely with Merseyside Police to support their investigation and with other relevant organizations to make sure those
affected gets the appropriate support.
I would appeal for people, please do not share the horrifying foot footage of the incident on social media. Please if you have any information,
forward it to Merseyside Police to help them with their investigation.
We won't be commenting any further, but we will provide relevant updates as and when we know more and it's appropriate to do so.
Once again, our hearts go out to all of those affected. Liverpool is a city that has a proud history of coming together and supporting each other
during challenging times. I have no doubt that will again be the case over the coming days and weeks. Thank you.
END
