Southport: ‘Hard to find the words for just how shocking an incident this is’ says Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner

We were joined by Emily Spurrell who’s the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner.

Emily Spurrell: It’s hard to find the words for just what a shocking incident this is. My heart goes out to the families, and the friends, and the community, who are clearly going to be deeply, deeply impacted by what has happened today. I want to pay tribute, to say thank you to the blue light services and the emergency services, who responded incredibly quickly and obviously to what was a very traumatic instance as well, and did their absolute best to deliver the best care possible. And obviously that work and that investigation is now ongoing.

Jackie Long: It took quite some time for us to get to this point. Lots of speculation during the day. Tell me what you first heard, when you first heard about this incident, this morning.

Emily Spurrell: I first became aware, I think, like many others did, that something had happened, up in Southport, at lunchtime today. It’s obviously been a very complicated situation. There’s been lots of moving parts. The police moved very quickly to identify the offender, and he’s now in custody. And obviously that investigation is ongoing with him. But there’s been lots of information. Lots of families, as I say, have been affected by this. So there’s been an incredible amount of work going on to make sure they’ve been supported, and the right kind of response is given to them, as well as the wider community.

Jackie Long: Exactly. And what do you understand about how those families are being supported?

Emily Spurrell: The families who have lost a loved one will be supported by the Merseyside Police family liaison officers. We also have our dedicated victim care team as well, who’ll be supporting anybody who’s been affected by today’s incident. So that’s Victim Care Merseyside, and they’re available to help, if anyone that needs that support. But there’s going to be a lot of dedicated input and support going into those families to try and help them process and deal with what’s happened today.

Jackie Long: And of course, this sort of horrific, unprecedented incident today, and the impact will be far and wide, won’t it? We heard terrible accounts from eyewitnesses who will also be traumatised. People within the community, school friends, this is extremely difficult for many, many people, isn’t it?

Emily Spurrell: This is definitely something that I think has sent shockwaves throughout the community. We know that community, they’re close knit. They know their neighbours. People don’t think something like this can happen where it has, and thankfully these incidents are very rare. But obviously because of that, when they do happen, it is incredibly impactful. So I recognise that there is going to be a strong feeling across the whole community here in Southport. But also we’ve seen how the community is responding to that. Raising money, trying to provide support in whatever way they can to those who have been affected by it. And I think that work will continue as well as we follow on. And sadly as probably more details come out over the following days and weeks.

Jackie Long: And in terms of the emergency services themselves, we heard in Clare’s report, there were terribly traumatic scenes for those responders as well, and that will have an impact on them.

Emily Spurrell: It absolutely will. Our emergency services just do an incredible job in really difficult circumstances. And sadly, this is another one where they’ve had to walk on to a scene, with incredibly traumatic, incredibly traumatic scene. Obviously from a Merseyside Police point of view, we’ll make sure that support is put in place, as I know the other emergency services will. But I’m incredibly grateful for the work they do, walking towards these incidents, trying to keep people safe, trying to deliver that first aid to try and save lives. But I know it will have a huge impact on them as well.

Jackie Long: You work, obviously, very closely with the police. What have they been telling you about their plans for the next few days, critical days in the investigation?

Emily Spurrell: It’s obviously very early days. They have said they don’t believe they are looking for anybody else in connection with this. They’re obviously starting that process of interviewing the individual they do have in custody. They’re not clear yet on what the motive is. I’m sure those are some of the things they will be looking to try and identify over the next few days and weeks. And until then, they’re just trying to make sure they can figure out what happened, why it happened, and hope to try and get some justice for the families.

Jackie Long: And just finally, briefly, your message to the wider community after today’s events.

Emily Spurrell: My heart goes out to the community. This was such a deeply upsetting, tragic incident. There is support available from our victim care service. If anybody wants to have that conversation with someone, there is support out there. But just my heart goes out to you and just look after each other today.