ITV attacked over 'guns on Liverpool street' claim

Jan 28 2008

SCEPTICAL community leaders today hit back after a TV crew claimed they were attacked and had a gun pulled on them while filming on the streets of Liverpool.

A team from Tonight with Trevor McDonald, led by city- born journalist Shelagh Fogarty, claimed they were pelted with glass bottles and stones by up to 40 youths outside Norris Green’s Strand shops on Friday night.

But the TV crew’s version of events released over the weekend today appeared to be at odds with reports received by Merseyside police.

Some 48 hours later police had still not received a complaint from the documentary makers.

They did, however, take a call from a local resident registering his concern the TV crew were “revving up” a small group of youths who had been there most of the night.

In the pre-programme publicity the team also claimed a gun was pointed at them from a car in Carr Lane East, Croxteth.

But they initially refused to give formal statements to the police until after the documentary has aired at 8pm today, saying they were too busy putting the programme together.

It is not thought the team filming Tonight: Women in Fear, have any footage of a gun being pulled.

Today local councillors reacted angrily.

Cllr Rose Bailey said: “If you go out into any town or city in the UK looking for trouble you will find it, and Croxteth and Norris Green are no different to anywhere else in that respect.

“I have heard no reports whatsoever of anything happening at The Strand, and neither have the police.

“However a member of the public did phone the police to say the TV crew would seem to be revving the kids up.

“If this crew were in so much danger and feared for themselves and their expensive equipment why didn’t they call 999? That is what it is there for.

“Personally I am fed up with people coming in from outside and annihilating our city.”

Croxteth Park councillor Phil Moffat said: “If anything of this nature did take place I would have thought it would be to the programme’s advantage that it was reported to the police.

“That they have not gives rise to believe that it is just another attempt to bad-mouth our city as if we haven’t endured enough over the past 12 months.”

An ITV press release said: “On Saturday Fogarty and her film crew were forced off the streets in Liverpool at about 9.45pm after a man leaned out of a car in Croxteth and pointed a gun at them.”

Last night, three members of the seven-strong crew had been tracked down by police to give statements on the alleged incident.

It is thought as they were looking to set up their cameras on Carr Lane East, Croxteth, the producers told a passing police patrol of a suspicious car driving nearby and their fears someone inside may have had a gun.

A police spokeswoman said: “This is a serious incident and we’re taking every possible steps to find the offenders and recover the weapon.

“Yesterday we recovered a stolen car which we believe was used in the alleged incident and we’re carrying out detailed forensic work to look for any possible links to the offenders.

“Meanwhile the Tonight team have yet to report claims that objects were thrown at them.Nevertheless we will be looking into this matter independently”