Articles by Ben Haslam

Technology

Police car crashes into Mercedes as emergency services close road for five hours

A police car crashed into a Mercedes while it was responding to an emergency, with a woman being arrested on suspicion of drink driving. The crash happened at around 11.15pm on Wednesday, November 12, on Conway Street in Birkenhead . Merseyside Police said emergency services were called to the scene when the Mercedes A-Class was in a collision with a police car while it rushed to the scene of an emergency. The police car driver and Mercedes passenger were taken to hospital for assessment where they were both confirmed to have suffered slight injuries in the collision. The driver of the Mercedes, a 34-year-old woman from Rock Ferry, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and will be released under investigation as police undertake further inquiries. In a video shared online, a large cordon can be seen on the road, with several police cars and vans in attendance. North West Ambulance Service and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were also at the scene of the crash at a junction on Conway Street. The Wirral road was closed until around 4am. For the latest news and breaking news visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/news Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter . Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here . Follow us on X @LivECHONews or on Bluesky @liverpoolecho.co.uk - official Liverpool ECHO accounts - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.

Technology

Police 'reviewing evidence' involving Southport killer's parents

Detectives are reviewing evidence given by Axel Rudakubana's parents at the Southport Inquiry to ensure no further crimes have been committed. The first phase of the Southport Inquiry concluded last week after the teen killer's mum and dad, Laetitia Muzayire and Alphonse Rudakubana, spoke publicly for the first time since the attack in Southport last year. Weapon-obsessed Rudakubana amassed a disturbing arsenal of weapons including seeds to make the deadly toxin ricin, a bow and arrows and three machetes. He also had a sledgehammer, jerry can and knives. The teenager likely funded the orders through a mixture of his own genealogy business, which saw thousands of pounds deposited in his account, and funds from his parents. Alphonse admitted to giving him money for tasks such as showering . Alphonse said he was aware of at least one machete, which was delivered as an age-verified parcel with an "18 plus" sticker on the box. The parcel was delivered to the family's next door neighbour under a false name . The dad said he didn't open the package or confront his son about the contents because "it would have quickly escalated". "This is an instance I regret so much," he added. "I should have called the police." But for the most part Rudakubana's online orders went unregulated and untouched. Asked about the packages during the inquiry, Rudakubana's older brother Dion said: "There was the same level of caution he had with us touching things of his generally." Rudakubana had not left the house in the two years leading up to the attack on July 29, 2024, other than when his dad stopped him attending Range High School seven days prior. When asked whether the police will be taking any further action, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We will obtain full transcripts from the inquiry and assess whether new information was provided that wasn’t known. "A file wasn’t submitted to the CPS because the evidence held at that time didn’t pass the police threshold meaning there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction for any offence." The ECHO broke the news in June this year that the force had concluded its investigation surrounding the murderer and no one else would face criminal proceedings. However, following the nine weeks of evidence given in the first phase of the public inquiry, police will reassess this. The families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar who were killed in the attack have expressed "full support" of the news. Chris Walker, of Bond Turner, representing the families of Elsie, Bebe and Alice said: "On behalf of the three bereaved families, we wish to express our full support for any reopening or re-examination of the evidence in relation to the conduct of AR’s parents. "Any further inquiry into the behaviour in question is unequivocally supported by all of our clients. We are confident that a criminal investigation will conclude that an offence has been committed." Rudakubana's family were the last people to give evidence to phase one of the inquiry this week. Both parents apologised for their son's crimes, with Alphonse telling proceedings: "I'm ashamed I lost the courage to save their little angels," while his wife added she grieves for the innocent lives lost. But their apologies weren't accepted by the three bereaved families , who released statements calling for accountability for their failures. The Stancombes said: "Parents should be culpable when they knowingly allow such evil to exist unchecked under their own roof." Meanwhile, the Aguiars said Rudakubana's parents' "failure to take responsibility, to act, and to intervene...directly contributed to the devastating loss of our daughter's life." And the Kings added: "Time after time, they had opportunities to intervene, to stop this, to protect others. If they had acted with any real sense of duty, Bebe, Elsie and Alice would still be here."