Liverpool parade crash driver Paul Doyle ‘exaggerated’ time in Scots Marines as ‘murky’ home life exposed
Liverpool parade crash driver Paul Doyle "exaggerated" his time in the Scots [1]Marines, it has been revealed. Details about his life have emerged after the 54-year-old admitted ploughing his car into crowds in Liverpool city centre in May, leaving 134 pedestrians injured.
Doyle changed his plea after returning to court for day two of his trial [2]this week, pleading guilty to every one of the 31 charges again him. Advertisement
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More than 100 people, including two babies and six other children[3], were injured after being struck by a Ford Galaxy on Water Street shortly after 6pm on May 26 this year, with 50 people requiring hospital treatment.
The dad-of-three had agreed to pick up a friend from the parade, but instead of driving back to his family home in Croxteth, he drove onto a cordoned-off street filled with Liverpool supporters [4]trying to make their way home.
Doyle seemingly lost his temper and deliberately ploughed into the crowd.
Dashcam footage and CCTV recordings from the attack showed the dad getting "increasingly" annoyed at the crowd, suggesting, prosecutors say, a "calculated" act of aggression rather than a "momentary lapse," reports the Mirror[5]. Advertisement Advertisement
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Doyle had been expected to claim in court that his actions had been a result of fear and panic, and that he never intended to hurt anyone. But just before he was due to stand trial, he pleaded guilty to all charges[6], admitting that he deliberately drove into fans.
Doyle's actions have shocked friends and neighbours, who thought he had a "heart of gold".
Now, more details have emerged about Doyle's life and career[7], including an apparent exaggeration over his short military career.
'Overstated' Marines stint
There are some apparent discrepancies concerning Doyle's time in the Marines -Credit:UGC / Mirror
Doyle reportedly passed out of the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre, also known as CTCRM, back in 1991, where he served with 43 Commando, a unit based in Arbroath, focused on securing the UK's nuclear deterrent.
On his LinkedIn profile, Doyle claims he served with the Commandos for four years and four months between March 1990 and June 1994. However, it's believed that the former military man was only in the Marines from March 1991 to January 1993 - just one year and 10 months in total, as reported by the Liverpool Echo[8]. Advertisement
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The practical minimum service length for Royal Marines is understood to be four years after eight months of basic training.
At this point, recruits can give their commanding officer 12 months' notice before being transferred to the reserve. Doyle signed up at the age of 19 and left at 21.
'Ethical hacker' mystery
After leaving the military behind, Doyle enrolled at the University of Liverpool in September 1995, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and maths three years later.
Following a stint as a manager at McDonald's, Doyle entered IT, working at the Littlewoods Data Centre. He was then employed at the IT department of Mersey Care NHS Trust for four years as a Network Team Leader, before being appointed as a cyber security manager at a London-based wealth management company, Rathbones Group.
After studying with the Albuquerque-based training firm EC-Council, Doyle became a 'certified ethical hacker' in January 2020.
In the same month that Doyle left Rathbones, he added a new descriptor on his LinkedIn [9]- a 'volunteer ethical hacker' for a group known as the 'Honest Hackers'. He also described himself as 'Acting Head of Cyber' at Hyper Scale Data Centre, a firm that neither the ECHO nor the Mirror have been able to track down.
Failed businesses
One of Doyle's businesses was inspired by his love of caps -Credit:UGC / Mirror
Doyle has previously established a number of since-dissolved businesses. In 2016, he and a West Derby neighbour launched sports goods company, Runcool Ltd.
He also started up the site FarOut Caps as a solo venture. Advertisement Advertisement
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Social media accounts for FarOut Caps show photographs of the snapback caps, with one image, dated November 2024, showing one GBP15 collectable designer cap placed on a waxwork of action movie legend Vin Diesel.
On the website, Doyle explained: "I started FarOut Caps in 2017 as I had always loved wearing caps, and just wanted to create my own. I set about drafting multiple logos and designs, and finally settled on a small range and logo.
"I then borrowed finances and set up the company along with my virtual shop.
I doubt I will ever be able to afford a Lambo, but it genuinely makes me happy when I make a sale, as it means that somebody actually likes my designs."
'Mr Healthy Dude'
Doyle is understood to be a church-going, tee-total father of three "well-behaved" teenage sons, who lives in a GBP300,000 four-bedroom detached home on a leafy West Derby cul-de-sac. Neighbours view the middle-class Doyles as a "nice" family, remarking on his shocking recent actions that "it just doesn't make sense." Advertisement
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One resident previously told the Mirror:[10] "It seems completely out of character.
They are such a nice family, the boys are really nice and well-behaved. [He] is a fantastic guy. He came over to help us when our alarm went off once, and then did the same for our immediate neighbours, too. It doesn't feel right.
They are lovely. The whole thing is so sad - for his wife and children and also for the people who were injured."
Throughout the local community, Doyle was known as a man who attended church, consoled those struggling with grief with gifts, and always offered to lend a hand with jobs. Indeed, on the day of the Liverpool parade catastrophe, it's been reported that he'd been dropping off a friend in the city centre, as a favour.
One neighbour told the Liverpool Echo how Doyle was viewed as "Mr Healthy Dude." He revealed: "He meditates, doesn't drink, and he would go out on the grass outside in his bare feet to ground himself.
He was a fit guy. He hasn't drunk for as long as I have known him."
Wife's horror realisation
He followed a number of controversial figures online -Credit:Mirror / UGC
It's been reported that Doyle's wife of 20 years only learned what had happened after seeing the incident on the news. A source told The Sun[11]: "She [the wife] first realised when she saw it was her car on the telly, when she saw it being driven at the parade.
The normal police cars turned up at teatime then Matrix van turned up later that night." Advertisement Advertisement
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It is believed that, when neighbours first saw the police van turn up outside the family home, they assumed the Doyles had been broken into.
One neighbour told The Independent[12] : "I know everyone's reg [car registration plate] in the street, so as soon as I saw the images within seconds, I seen him, I said that's his f****** car, on the f****** TV. My heart just sank, I couldn't believe it."
The neighbour said he knocked on the Doyle family's door to check in with his wife, who reportedly works as a teacher.
He recalled: "I said, 'Surely his car has been pinched and stolen or something'. She burst out crying."
Fancy holidays
Photos posted to social media show the Doyle family enjoying several trips abroad, including holidays to Disneyland, Florida, Dubai and beach getaways, the ECHO reports. Doyle appears to be an avid traveller, according to online accounts, having visited several Asian nations, including Japan, Fiji and India, and Australia.
Photographs uploaded online also capture the keen runner taking part in triathlons and even climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Advertisement Advertisement
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Doyle appears to have used the FarOut Caps X account as his own personal page, where he would post about popular shooter video game Fortnite and cryptocurrency, which he seems particularly interested in.
Doyle followed just 11 accounts, but this short list includes several controversial figures, including Nigel Farage, Elon Musk, and Andrew Tate. Doyle regularly links out to a YouTube account, fis30, which contains 645 videos.
Most of these cover Fortnite, while some videos discuss the SafeMoon cryptocurrency scheme.
Cryptocurrency fascination
Doyle appears to be very interested in cryptocurrencies, tweeting 40 times about SafeMoon on March 24, 2022. According to Doyle's past posts, he has held SafeMoon for over a year and was at some point considering buying more. In December 2023, SafeMoon, which has been described as a Ponzi scheme by financial commentators, was declared bankrupt after the firm and its executive team were charged with fraud by US authorities.
Doyle also posted about cryptocurrency Grove Coin, complaining about the transaction fee.
He wrote: "2023 won't be amazing for people who have staked their assets with you. What is the point in staking when you stand to lose 40%? This is only for £100, I have staked more in the 60, 90 and 180 day options, how much will I be charged for that?"
'Agitated' dashcam footage
Chilling CCTV and dashcam footage from Paul Doyle's Liverpool parade rampage -Credit:AFP / Getty
Following Doyle's guilty pleas, CPS Mersey-Cheshire Chief Crown Prosecutor Sarah Hammond said in a statement this week that the defendant "deliberately drove at" members of the public, "forcing his way through" the crowd after becoming visibly frustrated.
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The prosecutor said: "Today's convictions bring a measure of justice for an act that caused unimaginable harm during what should have been a day of celebration for the city of Liverpool. Paul Doyle has been held responsible for his deliberate actions that endangered lives and brought chaos upon a community.
"A total of 134 people were injured, including children as young as six months. This attack did not just harm individuals -- it struck at the heart of a city united in joy, leaving fear in its wake."
"By entering guilty pleas, Doyle has finally accepted that he intentionally drove into crowds of innocent people during Liverpool FC's victory parade.
Dashcam footage from Doyle's vehicle shows that as he approached Dale Street and Water Street, he became increasingly agitated by the crowds. Rather than wait for them to pass, he deliberately drove at them, forcing his way through. Driving a vehicle into a crowd is an act of calculated violence.
"This was not a momentary lapse by Paul Doyle -- it was a choice he made that day, and it turned celebration into mayhem.
I would like to commend the bravery of emergency services who acted swiftly at the scene.
There can be no doubt that their actions saved lives.
Liverpool as a city has shown resilience and unity in the face of this awful act, and I hope the victims, their families and anyone affected will feel justice has been done."
Doyle will be sentenced next month and has been warned that he is facing a lengthy jail sentence.
References
- ^ Scots (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ trial (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ children (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ he drove onto a cordoned-off street filled with Liverpool supporters (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ reports the Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ he pleaded guilty to all charges (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ have emerged about Doyle's life and career (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Liverpool Echo (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ LinkedIn (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
- ^ Mirror: (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ The Sun (www.thesun.co.uk)
- ^ The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)