Paul Doyle Sentenced 21 Years for Parade Crimes

Paul Doyle, a 54-year-old Liverpool native, pled guilty to 31 counts related to his actions during the Liverpool victory parade in May 2025, as 134 pedestrians were struck when he drove his car into celebrating crowds. Many of those struck remain disabled due to their injuries, while many others faced long and difficult physical rehabilitation times, and they and many more were and continue to be affected by the trauma of the day.

Doyle admitted his guilt to charges that ranged from dangerous driving, affray, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, causing GBH with intent, and wounding with intent, and received a sentence of 21 years and six months for these crimes.

Judge Andrew Menary, in his sentencing, noted that Doyle’s actions began with “impatience and arrogance” and ended in a dangerous “inexplicable and undiluted fury.”

Doyle’s increased agitation and eventual fury were captured by his own dash camera footage of his drive that day, and this footage was available to the court, with apparent agitation and rudeness to pedestrians evident long before he entered the streets that were closed to public traffic on the day.

According to New York Times reporting, when captured by police after the incident Doyle “initially told the police that he stopped when he realized he had struck someone, and that he had been fleeing hostile Liverpool fans — including some armed with knives — in fear of his life.” These initial statements were quickly proven false through a combination of eyewitness testimony (and video) and his own dash camera footage.

Doyle changed his plea from not guilty to guilty at the outset of his trial in December. According to his lawyer, Simon Csoka, Doyle was last reported of a violent incident back in 1993 — an incident which saw him discharged from the Royal Marines as well as sentenced to a year in prison.

Though thankfully no one was killed by Paul Doyle’s reckless actions in May, the trauma of the events lives on for many survivors. At Doyle’s trial, the mother of an 11-year-old who was trapped under Doyle’s vehicle before being rescued spoke of the nightmares and mental scars the attack left on her son and their entire family:

“My son is only a young child, with his whole life ahead of him. There are good days and bad days. On the good days we try to hold on to hope. But the bad days are heavy – filled with fear, anxiety and sadness…The nightmares are the worst. He wakes up crying, reliving the incident. And it’s not just him, we all do.”

Along with developing a fear of cars, the young child reportedly also harbors embarrassment about the visible scarring on his face and head that occurred due to the attack.

“He’s also become self-conscious about the scar on his face,” his mother told the court.

“He worries what people will think when they see it. He asks me if people will laugh at the bald patch on the left side of his head.

“As a mother it breaks my heart to see him question his appearance and fear being judged or bullied.”

This mother was one of 78 people who submitted testimony to be read in court by prosecution barrister Philip Astbury as well as the witnesses themselves. Much of this testimony has been published by the BBC in the wake of Doyle’s sentencing, though it should be noted that some of this testimony may be hard to read for some readers.

Susan Farrell, who read a statement on behalf of herself and her husband, Colin Farrell, perhaps deserves to have the last word, as she addressed Doyle outright during her testimony. Reacting to the guilty man’s tears, Ferrell said, “here are hundreds of people affected by your actions. I want you to think about them all. Don’t sit in the dock and cry for yourself. Be brave and take accountability for what you did.”

We at The Liverpool Offside send our thoughts of support to any readers affected by Doyle’s attack last May, and hope his sentencing brings you some sense of closure and peace.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com