Superintendent Chris Gibson said: “We are aware of a video circulating of Liverpool City Centre, which shows crowds gathering near to Hanover Street at around 10pm last night, Saturday 26 September. I’d like to give some context to the images, as they do not reflect the overall behaviour of people in Liverpool this weekend. This was a spontaneous gathering around a local street performer, and dispersed within minutes, under the close monitoring of officers and via CCTV.
“The city centre was virtually empty at around 10.30pm and no serious incidents were reported. Although naturally there will be a surge of people leaving premises at 10pm, everyone we spoke to was good-natured and we’d like to thank those people for moving on swiftly. Although we understand the frustration with all restrictions in place at the moment, we are facing a serious increase in cases.
“This weekend, we have however issued a number of fixed penalty notices at house parties, businesses and events across Merseyside. We will keep engaging and explaining the laws, but when enforcement is necessary we will do so.
“I want to continue to urge people to social distance, keep to small groups and do not mix households. We will all get through these difficult times but for now, everyone’s priority should still be to protect those who are vulnerable, and help reduce the demands on the NHS and other emergency services.”
