More than 3 million views on our video from the riot in Southport.
Our story will be in your inboxes soon. If you value this kind of on the ground reporting, please join us as a member.
As she held it up, she was surrounded by men involved in the riot. Some of them had been pelting the mosque with bricks. She's now walked off and didn't want to be interviewed.
This woman holding up her 'Hope, not hate' sign with men shouting in her face is becoming the iconic image of tonight's riot in Southport.
We tried to speak to her straight after shooting the video but she looked traumatised and didn't want to talk.
We first heard something was happening at the far-right protest earlier. Four men walked past us saying they were off to "smash up the mosque". When we got to the mosque on St Luke’s Road, this was the scene.
🚨 BREAKING: The protest in Southport is turning into a riot. We've seen bricks thrown through the local mosque's window and a police van is burning. Several people - including officers - have been hurt. People are shouting at the police for protecting "disgusting nonces".
There was also a group who seemed to be opposing the mob. One woman said her friend's child was killed yesterday but said it's not the police’s fault, it’s the government's fault.
This from
@MerseyPolice
:
👉 "an officer has suffered a suspected broken nose and police vehicles have been damaged and set alight."
👉 “It is sickening to see this happening within a community that has been devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives."
Just published: Bored of publishing clickbait, the Liverpool Echo moves to crush its competition.
An editor's note by
@molssimp
about this city's monopoly newspaper and its owner Reach Plc.
The Eldonian Village in Vauxhall once hosted visits from royals and prime ministers. Now residents say they have been sold out.
For five months, we've been investigating this strange and tangled story. By
@jlaverick99
.
When we started looking into a "historic" £60m loan from Merseyside Pension Fund to the massive Heaps Rice Mill development, the developer's lawyers threatened to sue us.
But while doing so, they inadvertently revealed the involvement of a notorious gangster...
🚨THE DAY HAS COME🚨
After seeing exceptional growth in the past few months, The Post is now hiring a second full-time reporter to join our team in Liverpool. We’re buzzing.
Full details of the role can be found at the link below!
We need to charge our phone but we'll have a full report in tomorrow's edition of The Post. Sign up to get it in your inboxes in the morning. And please do send us videos and tips about what you've seen.
Last night, as Southport Mosque was being peppered with bricks, a woman jostled through the crowd. She had just wrestled her banner back from a man who had snatched it from her. She shouted “fuck off” and held it up.
“One Race — Human. Hope, not hate. Racism not welcome here”.
Today’s long read, ‘How Liverpool City Council blew almost £1 million on supercars: The inside story of how 'invest to earn' crippled our finances’ took
@MattODigs
10 years to research. We reckon it’s well worth your time, so click below.
As bitter rivals Liverpool power towards domestic and European success, the people’s club – Everton – find themselves awkwardly straddling competing identities, by
@jlaverick99
With thanks to
@UHTPodcast
and
@james_corbett
✒️ We're building a team of high-quality writers, critics and reporters across Merseyside - people who like our style of journalism and want to write regularly.
Please say hi and pitch us: editor
@livpost
.co.uk. We'll agree a fee when we commission.
In his most in-depth interview since his fall from grace, the former mayor Joe Anderson tells The Post: 'I can look you in the eye and swear on the holy Bible. I’ve never done anything to hurt this city'
New: Did the Liverpool Echo try to get a vocal critic kicked off of her journalism course?
The newspaper has been accused of an extraordinary overreach of its power.
🗞️ A video of 1970s Liverpool - and the case for a new local newspaper.
Our analysis of what has happened to local news in recent decades - and our ideas about how to start reversing the damage. If you agree, please share it.
@molssimp
We are a tiny team, operating on a shoestring budget. Our articles are reported on-the-ground, written and edited from our bedrooms (or sometimes the Egg Cafe in L1). Here's the core of our operation -
@molssimp
and
@RobinBrown78
.
Wow - legendary editor and former Guardian board member Mike Unger has commented under our editorial: "I'm proud to have edited the Post, Echo and MEN in the 1970s and 1980s and I'm ashamed of it now. Keep up the good work."
If you want football news, these probably aren’t the pages you’d turn to. But today we’re making an exception, because according to our sources Joe Tacopina, the lawyer who worked for Donald Trump, is working on a deal to take over Tranmere Rovers...
What if the songs you love contain secret message which are directed at you, and you alone?
A beautiful essay from
@jeffyoungwriter
about the music of Paul Simpson and the soul of Liverpool.
Former Labour councillor Peter Mitchell runs a charity that claims to bring in £15m a year. But there’s plenty that doesn’t make sense about Big Help Project
Today’s special investigation by
@abi_whist
Living in exile, Joe Anderson thinks we've got him wrong.
In his most in-depth interview since his fall from grace, the former mayor tells
@jlaverick99
: 'I can look you in the eye and swear on the holy Bible. I’ve never done anything to hurt this city'.
Lark Lane is a place that thrives on nostalgia; its pubs stripped back to expose original wooden beams and bricks, books written about its history and locals often talking about “the good old days” of a place in its prime.
🚨 CALL FOR PITCHES 🚨 We’re commissioning freelance writers and we need YOU. Got an idea for a pacy, story-driven article? Uncovered a news scoop? Are you funny and voicy enough to create feature magic? We pay (obviously!)
Email us: editor
@livpost
.co.uk
Everyone knows about inequality in terms of income. But what about inequality in terms of access to clean air? This weekend, we delved into the areas of our city where residents are forced to inhale dangerously polluted air.
EUROVISION IS COMING TO LIVERPOOL!! 🇺🇦🥳🎉
We're hosting it on behalf of our friends in Ukraine - and this
@7streets
piece explains why we are going to do them proud 🪩🍾
“The city is just made for Eurovision. We all know it. It’s obvious. Most Saturday nights in town look like a dress rehearsal anyway”
@7streets
on the
@CultureLPool
Eurovision bid, as the city waits with bated breath
Looking out over sparkling waters, grey seals and ancient ruins, Chris Williams finds a connection with nature - and with his father.
Our wonderful weekend read, by
@jackdulhanty
: The watcher of Hilbre Island
In 2021, the Everyman theatre appointed a new leader called Suba Das, a dynamic director whose arrival was said to herald an exciting new chapter for culture in the city.
But after just a year Das resigned - without any explanation. So what went wrong?
We have not paywalled this piece as we believe this on-the-ground reporting from the riot in Southport last night should be accessible to all readers.
Southport mourns. Then burns.
You may not have guessed it, but Bootle was once the Acid House capital of Merseyside — with clubbers travelling there from all over the UK just to attend their one-of-a-kind all night raves...
'I had a feeling the city was a living novel and we were walking through its pages. When I was older it was Dickensian, or a sprawling Scouse Ulysses, full of mystery and gassing and mad characters and adventure' — Jeff Young
📢Liverpool writers and journalists: We are commissioning stories for our launch period in Oct/Nov.
👉 Please pitch us your ideas for long form features, interviews, cultural stories and news investigations.
👉 Email pitches and links to your work to editor
@livpost
.co.uk.
Based on analysis of dozens of social media accounts, interviews with residents in Knowsley and conversations with asylum seekers inside the Suites Hotel, The Post has created the fullest account of what happened at the violent protest last weekend.
“Imagine that being on your doorstep,” Jon points up at the remains of a severed Churchill Way flyover, exposed iron and concrete covered in sprawling graffiti. “Just waking up every morning and seeing that.”
Exclusive: For the past two months, The Post has been investigating a scandal at The Blue Coat School, one of Liverpool’s most revered institutions.
Today we reveal that a recently-departed teacher is under police investigation for historic sex offences.
At 17, Matthew Smith had the world at his feet, having created what’s widely believed to be one of the greatest computer games of all time — Manic Miner. So where did it all go wrong? — an investigation, by
@pennylanematt
Breaking: Joe Anderson has been cleared by Lancashire Police, ending a nine year investigation into allegations of financial irregularities relating to procurement practices at Lancashire County Council. Four others are also no longer under investigation.
via
@TheBusinessDesk
Meet The Post's second hire,
@jlaverick99
🎉
Jack interned for seven months and joined us on staff as a full-time reporter today. He has written some of our most popular stories, here are some of our favourites.
@molssimp
"Staff members at the Echo have told us they feel embarrassed about what their bosses have chosen to do. A huge company that has operated a monopoly in Liverpool for decades wants to get rid of a tiny competitor."
Merseyside faces into the Irish sea, with strong tides and few sea walls to protect it.
So how vulnerable are we to rising sea levels? And which areas would be worst hit if climate change accelerates?
🍾 A massive thankyou to the first 1000 (&13) Post members. We’ve been pushing towards this milestone for a while & it’s amazing to finally get there!
If you’re one of the many new members to have joined up today, welcome to the communtiy 🙌
"See, without even knowing that guy, you’ve just paid for his lunch. How does that make you feel?" -
@PCPCoffee
Can a community cafe fight on behalf of Liverpool's homeless community?
Almost 15 years ago, Liverpool ONE arose from a wasteland. But the wasteland was publicly owned, "Paradise", as it was referred to at the time, was private.
In our weekend read,
@jlaverick99
asks: Who really owns Liverpool ONE?
Did the Echo's editor abuse her power to punish a vocal critic?
"
@wilkieleaks
turned up to her course and was called in for a meeting with the Head of School Sara Barnes. Barnes told her
@LivEchonews
had been in touch with her tutor Joanna Lane."
To retain its young people and thrive, the city and its wider region need to create interesting well paid jobs. But the private sector isn’t buying what Liverpool is selling.
Why are companies leaving Liverpool? A deeply reported long read by
@jlaverick99
💥 Special report: Inside Liverpool's turbulent politics.
Critics say it’s a council in limbo - under weak leadership and in hock to the all-powerful government commissioners. Is that true?
By
@joshi
,
@RobinBrown78
,
@molssimp
&
@HShukman
.
‘I have a vision of a body in trauma, slowly closing down its non-vital organs as it fights for survival on the operating table. But survive this indomitable old girl has’
“He simply witnessed the signature, because he happened to be present on site at the time and that is it,”
@LegacieDev
told us.
What on earth is going on at Heaps Rice Mill? Read
@lisarandonline
's jaw-dropping story here (you can get a 7-day free trial).
"It’s a way to say, hey, look over here — Liverpool is a city powered by people. But can we be brave enough to realise it?"
A heart wrenching but hopeful read from
@7streets
on Liverpool's struggle to keep hold of its greatest minds
Just in: Liverpool Cathedral is removing the netting from the entrance of the cathedral, where two peregrine falcons were nesting. "We are sorry for the anxiety that the netting caused."
"At times she looked close to tears. It was hard to blame her. As usual, Liverpool had fostered something beautiful, then stripped it for parts."
Read our investigation into what happened at the Eldonian Village. By
@jlaverick99
.
A story of pain, loss, and resilience: In the 1970s, lesbian mothers often lost their children. One Liverpool nan, Judi Morris, wants an apology for the son she lost and the injustice she faced. 🧵
Media companies are often a flash in the pan, here today, bankrupt tomorrow, but it was crucial to us that The Post would not follow that model.
Today, we can reveal something rather exciting...
In amongst the usual thicket of ads, self-playing videos and paid links to scammy websites, the Echo admitted that things are tough in local journalism - but why are they lashing out at the BBC?
An editor’s note from
@jlaverick99
🎉🎉🎉 It’s party time at Post HQ. A massive thanks to our first 1000 (& 7) members, and especially to Peter Milligan - the 1000th. What an honour.
Now, to 2000….
"Lycoong Ho tells me that he and his colleagues would put on their overalls and paint the street themselves. But there will be no renovation without say-so from the council. When will that be?"
Chinatown is quietly dying. Read the full piece:
🚨Breaking: Government investigators will explore ‘unmanaged conflicts of interest’ at the influential Big Help Project, which is run by a former Labour councillor
"Local papers often jump to the top of Google’s results for stories that could run anywhere. They have no relevance to the community the paper ostensibly serves"
Why clickbait journalism backfires on local papers, by
@jamesrbuk
for the
@NewStatesman
.
'A lot of those details, the high rise flats, they’ve all been demolished. I suppose my photographs remind people who used to live there of their memories.'
The student photography project that became a part of Liverpool's working class history. All photos by Rob Bremner.
'People said I was crazy to open here': How a famous old Liverpool road was reborn
Our weekend read is a lovely feature by
@RobinBrown78
about the recent renaissance of Smithdown Road.
📢 'It’s really good news that The Post will be bringing quality journalism to Merseyside' - Michael Unger, former editor of the Liverpool Daily Post, the Echo and the Manchester Evening News.
Eurovision? Tick. Is opera next? Liverpool tries to build on a triumph
For our weekend read,
@jlaverick99
speaks to key figures in the city's cultural sector. Are we on the cusp of something big?
A few weeks ago, we published a story about a £250,000 bridge and memorial to Nelson Mandela being built in Princes Park.
After discovering that the council appears to have misled us about one key detail —
@jlaverick99
returns to that story today
This week, we’re teaming up with the wonderful folk over at
@The_Fence_Mag
- home to beautiful features, first-class investigations and general shenanigans
& as part of the collaboration, we’re giving away a Gallery-Grade copy of this beautiful map from their latest mag 👇👇
Exclusive: A racism row is tearing apart Liverpool's oldest private members club.
A member of the Athenaeum has been accused of alarming bigotry. So why wasn't he expelled?
Scoop by
@jlaverick99
.
"The CEO of Reach, which also owns the Manchester Evening News, the Birmingham Mail and the Liverpool Echo, also maintained that the publisher has “significant resources” despite cutting almost 800 roles in the biggest annual cull of jobs in the newspaper industry in decades."
Boss of Reach Plc, which has spent 20 years sacking journalists, pumping out clickbait and destroying the user experience:
"I am as disappointed as anyone else that people don’t really want to pay for our content online. Nowhere near enough of them."
😑
The council say the
@LivTropicals
historic collection of botanical plants at Croxteth Country Park is too depleted for most of it to be worth saving
Is this the end of the road?
By
@jlaverick99
"The mission — put broadly — is to try and revolutionise local news in this country. There is a real appetite all over Britain for journalism that values locality and quality over eyeballs and revenue streams."
A note from our editor,
@jlaverick99
In today’s edition, we dig deeper into the world of former Labour councillor Peter Mitchell and Big Help, his sprawling group of charities and companies.
The revelations in Part One of our investigation were alarming but things only get stranger in Part Two.
"The problems of local journalism are bound up with a business model that has lost sight of its readers — a world in which you have become just a click on a screen."
A note from
@lisarandonline
, our new recruit.
They also sent us a land transfer form for Heaps Mill, which would normally be a pretty boring document.
But then
@lisarandonline
spotted the name of the man who witnessed the deal. James Taylor. That couldn’t possibly be the notorious criminal James ‘Pancake’ Taylor, could it?
The very meaning of the term Scouser can be fraught with confusion and debate. Thankfully, Southport native
@JoshMcloughlin
is on hand to unpack it
Our weekend read - provided by the wonderful
@The_Fence_Mag
from their latest edition.
The ABC setting on fire is just the latest in a series of unfortunate events for the former cinema. But why has it been empty for a quarter of a century? And why is this a pattern, not an anomaly?
@jlaverick99
explores.
A lot of what's been written about 'Williamson's Tunnels' isn't true - including stories about smuggled contraband, never-ending passages and a religious cult living under Liverpool.
So what is true? Our long read today is by
@johnreppion
and
@joshi
"There’s something about bikes. Paul describes the pride it instils for people in recovery to look after their bike. The attachment you feel to an object that creates a point of self-determination."
An uplifting, joyful weekend read by
@jlaverick99