Appeal launched to find man singing homophobic slurs into microphone in Sefton Park

Police are investigating a report of hate crime in Sefton Park, Liverpool, earlier this week.

At around 12.35pm on Sunday 21 August police received a report that a man was singing homophobic and transphobic slurs into a microphone, opposite Oasis café.

Police attended and arrested a 52-year-old man from Liverpool on suspicion of a Section 5 Public Order offence.

He was taken into custody, questioned by police and has since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or with any information to get in touch.

Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said:

“We simply will not tolerate such hate speech on Merseyside and I’m sure the overwhelming majority of people would agree that such vile hate has no place in our communities.

“While we have made one arrest, enquiries into this incident remain ongoing and I would ask anyone with any information to come forward.

“This occurred on a Sunday afternoon and Sefton Park would have been very busy with people out and about enjoying the sunshine. If you saw or heard anything, or captured any footage on mobile phone then please let us know.  Information you hold could be vital to our ongoing investigation.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre with reference 22000616722. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.

If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here: merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf

Dedicated support for victims of hate crime is also available through the Victim Care Merseyside service delivered by Citizens Advice. They can be contacted at lgbthatecrime@caliverpool.org.uk or by calling 0151 522 1400 ext. 5006