Liverpool parade attacker Paul Doyle told a web of lies when he was first interviewed by police. And they will likely come back to haunt him in prison, experts have warned
The ex-marine who used his car "as a weapon" to plough into a helpless crowd of Liverpool FC fans while "in a rage" will endure a bleak existence in prison, experts have revealed
Paul Doyle, 54, initially told police that he acted in "panic" on that fateful day, even blaming his actions on fans for making him "fear for his life", but his lies soon unravelled when investigators discovered harrowing dashcam footage that told a different story.
The haunting video showed Doyle shouting angrily, swearing and beeping his horn as the car rammed into pedestrians in the crowd. Victims were thrown onto his bonnet and trapped under his vehicle, but he continued to mow through the sea of terrified fans. Gasps of horror were heard in the courtroom, packed full of victims and their families, as the footage was shown.
Doyle injured more than 100 people in the rampage
Doyle injured more than 100 people in the rampage(Image: Police Handout)
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The court heard how Doyle's police interviews were littered with fake claims and outright lies, blaming the fans for his actions. He claimed a bottle had been thrown, that he'd seen someone with a knife and even claimed he stopped as soon as he realised he had struck someone down. It was all lies.
The senseless attacker has now been sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison after 134 Liverpool parade attendees were hurt in the attack, some who have been left with serious injuries, PTSD and ongoing trauma. After learning his fate, there was no reaction from Doyle as he was taken down from the dock by prison officers at Liverpool Crown Court.
With the widespread agony he has caused to more than 100 victims, and having tried to pin the blame on the helpless fans whose day of celebrations turned into life-changing horror, experts have warned that Doyle's prison experience will be anything but comfortable. Here we look at what his life inside will really look like...
Prison conditions
Before sentencing, Doyle was treated as an Category A inmate in prison. Category A prisoners are regarded as the most dangerous, who if they were to escape, would pose the most threat to the public. He was reportedly being checked around the clock due to fears of reprisals from other inmates. A source said: "A lot of inmates, especially at northern prisons, will have had friends or relatives at the parade so it's not hard to see why he might be targeted."
Speaking with the Mirror this week, Nusrit Mehtab, former MET super and senior lecturer in policing and criminal justice revealed that Doyle will likely be put in category B to live out his sentence, rather than category A. Ms Mehtab explained: "He could start off on a category A and then go to category B, but I think it will probably be category B. And in a category pre-prison, he will be held in a closed prison regime with locked wings, controlled movement and regular head counts."
The father-of-three sobbed in court this week
The father-of-three sobbed in court this week
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(Image: PA)
She continued: "He'll have interaction with other prisoners but it's structured through regulated associated periods, so when they can go out. Staff will monitor his behaviour, intelligence, his risk, his interaction. They'll keep a good eye on him and do regular reports."
Considering what Doyle's day-to-day routine might look like on the inside, the crime expert revealed: "Prisoners do get an education, they get exercise. Whether he'll be kept away from other prisoners is yet to be seen, I don't think he'll immediately go into isolation. That doesn't happen. But they will keep a close eye on him to make sure that he doesn't get attacked."
'Tough time' inside
Doyle initially denied all charges but tearfully changed his plea at the 11th hour, just before trial. His oldest victim, 77-year-old Susan Passey, suffered multiple fractures after being trapped under Doyle's car with an 11-year-old boy and two other pedestrians. The youngest was six-month-old Teddy Eveson, who was thrown about 15 feet down the road in his pram when the crash happened.
Commenting on the last-minute plea change, criminologist and psychologist Alex Izsatt told The Mirror: "His lawyers may have persuaded him to change the plea on the evidence presented as the chances of acquittal or even a more favourable verdict were very slim. A late guilty plea can limit the reduction in sentence, the court will have to weigh the number of victims, severity of injuries, and the scale of risk.
Paul Doyle is arrested
Police also shared footage of Doyle being processed in Liverpool
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She added: "As it's a high profile case, Paul may start in a high security prison, and be moved at a later date, depending on good behaviour. If he's prone to emotional breakdowns, they may provide segregation or protective custody initially. It's likely he will face a tough time from other inmates due to the range of victims as well as the fact he drove into football fans."
Ms Mehtab agrees that Doyle likely won't have "an easy ride behind bars", noting: "The nature of his crime means he's [become] quite notorious, and prisoners will know that. I don't think he'll get an easy ride behind bars, certainly. He's unlikely to receive any kind of easy passage through the prison system, simply because of who he is or because he might be harmed."
A prison truck arriving at Liverpool Crown Court ahead of the sentencing
A prison truck arriving at Liverpool Crown Court ahead of the sentencing
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(Image: PA)
"I think there'll be a heavy stigma amongst inmates. Unlike gang-related, one-to-one violence, this was an act where innocent people were injured all at once. And so that will place him low in the informal prisoner hierarchy. They won't look upon him as favourably. Attacking ordinary people who pose no threat to him [will] be viewed as cowardly and indiscriminate violence.
"Prisoners also have their own hierarchy. And prison culture can be brutal in terms of its judgement and offences that resemble attack on innocent members of the public. I don't think he'll get an easy ride. He's got huge national publicity. And so it won't be easy for him initially."
Doyle's criminal past
Many questions emerged about the ex-marine's career and home life before his sentencing, and now his previous criminal convictions have been revealed for the first time. Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, told the court that Doyle enlisted in the Royal Marines at age 19, after a short stint in the Royal Engineers. He signed up for 22 years' service but was discharged in January 1993, just 22 months after enlisting.
Doyle did not see active service and was discharged on a basis that his services were no longer required, the court heard. Mr Greaney also revealed that Doyle had both civilian and service convictions. When Doyle was in the Royal Engineers in 1989, he committed a military offence equated to common assault and was give seven days' detention, he said. In March the following year, aged 18, Doyle was fined for a minor offence of dishonesty.
And in October 1991, at the end of Paul Doyle's 32-week training period for the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, he had what he later described as a "scuffle" with men in a nightclub. He said after he was thrown out, the men were waiting for him and he "got the better of them".
Doyle has three teenage sons
Doyle has three teenage sons
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He punched another person in the face several times and was convicted of a section 20 assault and fined by Exeter Magistrates' Court. In February 1992, he was convicted of two military offences – one of using violence to a superior officer and one of conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline – and in July that year he was convicted of a military offence equivalent to criminal damage, the court heard.
Doyle also has a previous conviction for biting someone's ear off. The prosecutor said Doyle was jailed for 12 months in November 1994 for causing grievous bodily harm after biting off the ear of another man in a fight in July the previous year. When he was interviewed by police earlier this year after the parade incident, he said he had become involved in a drunken fight with sailors.
The final previous offences he was convicted of before his guilty pleas last month were a minor offence of dishonesty and breach of the peace in Scotland in December 1993, the court heard. Mr Greaney said between the ages of 18 and 22 Doyle was convicted of offences, including serious violence.
Photos shared on social media saw him enjoying holidays before the attack
Photos shared on social media saw him enjoying holidays before the attack
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He said: "The prosecution recognises that in the 30 years between his release from prison in May 1995 and his dreadful actions on May 26 2025, the defendant had taken steps to live a positive and productive life. During that period, he was convicted of no offences. He went to university. He worked, including in positions of responsibility. He had a family. Those efforts to rehabilitate himself after a difficult early adulthood only serve to make more shocking and tragic what he did in Liverpool that day this May."
The senseless Liverpool attack left the city in complete shock, as well as those who know Doyle. In his local community, he was known as a man who attended church, consoled those struggling with grief with gifts, and offered to help out with jobs. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, told the Liverpool Echo how he was seen as "Mr Healthy Dude." He said: "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."
Photos shared on social media depict Doyle enjoying various holidays overseas, including trips to Disneyland, Florida, Dubai and beach getaways, the ECHO reports. Online accounts show Doyle to be an extensive traveller, having visited several Asian nations, including Japan, Fiji and India, and Australia. Photographs uploaded online also capture the keen runner partaking in triathlons and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Doyle appears to have used the FarOut Caps Twitter/X account as his own personal page, where he would post about popular shooter video game Fortnite and cryptocurrency, a topic of particular fascination for him.
Doyle followed just 11 accounts, but this short list includes several controversial figures, including Reform leader Nigel Farage, Elon Musk, and 'manosphere' influencer 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.