The victim of the horrific gang attack which happened on Liverpool’s Stanley Street on Sunday night has been named as James Parkes, a gay trainee constable with Merseyside Police.
Parkes, 22, is still in hospital in a very critical condition, with multiple skull fractures, a fractured eye socket and a fractured cheek bone. He was attacked as he and friends left the well known Liverpool gay bar Superstar Budoir at 10pm on Sunday night.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "The officer, who is openly gay, was with his partner, another man and a woman when the incident took place.
"From the language used by the offenders towards the officer we perceive it was a homophobic attack."
Originally it was reported that up to 13 people were involved in the attack, but it is now thought that as many as 20 people could be involved.
Four teenagers, aged 14, 17 and two aged 15, from the Kirkdale area, were yesterday arrested on suspicion of assault, but released on bail last night. Two more youths, both aged 15 and from Kirkdale, have now also been arrested and are being questioned by detectives.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are outraged and deeply upset at the attack. It follows the death of 62 year old Ian Baynham two weeks ago following head injuries sustained in a homophobic attack, three people have been charged with manslaughter.
It is also a stark reminder of the death of the openly gay teenager Michael Causer who was murdered on Merseyside last year, in what was investigated as a homophobic attack. James O'Conner, who was 18 at the time of the attack, was found guilty of the murder of Michael Causer.
Liverpool's LGBT community have rallied after the attack, Tommy McIlravey, chairman of Liverpool’s LGB&T Network, told the Liverpool Daily Post: “We will be holding an open meeting later this month and will be inviting senior police officers to attend.
“Stanley Street is the very heart of gay Liverpool. There has been a gay bar somewhere along there for the best part of 40 years. What’s more, it has always felt like a much safer place on a Friday or Saturday night than much of the rest of Liverpool city centre.
“Whatever the motivation for this attack, it is shocking to everyone who socialises in that area. Hopefully James Parkes will make a full recovery.
“It just beggars belief that this happened. It saddens me to say that I am not shocked that this happened.
“The network works with schools to try and bring down the number of hate crimes incidents.
“This has been marginally successful; some schools just deny they have a problem.
“We want to put an end to that. Because of the age of the alleged attackers, people are likely to blame the parents, but the youths need educating properly about the effect of hate crime.”
A facebook group has started called “Liverpool march against homophobia” as a result of the attack on Mr Parkes. It already has nearly a thousand members, highlighting the strength of public concern about homophobia.
Emma Louise Stewart has created the group, and hopes to organise a peaceful march through the streets of Liverpool by the end November, to show "that this is not the way to treat people who are different."
Witnesses should call St Anne’s Street CID on 0151 777 4064 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
REPORT HATE CRIME: The Lesbian & Gay Foundation is a third party hate crime reporting centre. If you have experienced homophobic hate report it. You can call the LGF helpline on 0845 3 30 30 30 between 6pm and 10pm (Staffed), 10pm-6pm (automated system). To find out more about your local hate crime reporting centre, click here.
LGB&T WEEKLY POLICE SURGERY: If you are experiencing homophobia or want to report a hate crime / incident, you can call in at Greater Manchester Police's LGB&T police surgey which takes place every Thursday between 6 and 8pm at The Lesbian & Gay Foundation, Princess Street, Manchester. For more information, on the LGB&T police surgery, click here.
CHALLENGE HOMOPHOBIA AND HATE CRIME: To find out more about what you can do to challenge homophobia in the UK, click here.
Greater Manchester Police hate crime reporting.
Merseyside Police hate crime reporting.
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