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The taxi driver who survived the Liverpool terror attack has said it is a “miracle that I’m alive” in his first statement since the explosion on Remembrance Sunday.

David Perry and his wife Rachel have thanked the public for their “amazing generosity” in the wake of the attack outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital one week ago.

In a statement released by the police, Mr Perry said: “On behalf of myself, Rachel and our family, we would like to say thank you to everyone for all your get-well wishes and for your amazing generosity. We are completely overwhelmed with it.

“A special thanks to the staff at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, the staff and medical team at Aintree Hospital, Merseyside Police and Counter Terrorism Policing, who have all been amazing.

“I feel like it’s a miracle that I’m alive and so thankful that no one else was injured in such an evil act. I now need time to try to come to terms with what’s happened and focus on my recovery both mentally and physically.

“Please be kind, be vigilant and stay safe.”

Mr Perry managed to escape when a suspected terrorist device exploded in his car on Remembrance Sunday.

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Merseyside Police were called at 10:59am on 14 November to reports of a car explosion at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Mr Perry’s taxi, carrying 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen, had pulled up to the hospital and exploded shortly afterwards.

Al Swealmeen, who had been picked up from the Rutland Avenue area and asked to be taken to the hospital about 10 minutes away, died at the scene.

In a press conference on Thursday assistant chief constable Russ Jackson, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, formally identified Al Swealmeen as the person who died in the explosion at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

He told reporters Al Swealmeen is believed to have been born in Iraq and most recently lived at Rutland Avenue – and appeared to have made an improvised device that caused the explosion.

Mr Perry has been discharged from hospital after running from his vehicle moments after the attack.

Posting on Facebook on Monday, Mr Perry’s wife Rachel Perry called her husband’s escape “an utter miracle” and said he is “lucky to be alive”.

Ms Perry thanked friends for their messages and said her husband was “extremely sore and just trying to process what’s happened”.

“The explosion happened whilst he was in the car and how he managed to escape is an utter miracle,” she wrote.

“He certainly had some guardian angels looking after him.”

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Mr Perry had apparently acted with “incredible presence of mind and bravery”, and Liverpool’s mayor praised him for diverting “what could have been an absolutely awful disaster” by locking the taxi’s doors.

But Ms Perry’s statement on Monday appeared to dampen reports that Mr Perry had acted heroically, stating: “There are a lot of rumours flying round about him being a hero and locking the passenger inside the car… but the truth of the matter is, he is without a doubt lucky to be alive.”

She added: “Let’s pray this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

A CCTV video captured the moment of the explosion.

It shows the cab – a black estate or people carrier – slowly pulling up yards from reception and a violent blast sending white smoke and debris shooting into the air as soon as it stops.

Emerging from the smoke, Mr Perry runs from the driver’s side door as a man in a yellow hi-viz vest dashes to help.

The vehicle is then engulfed in flames, but luckily at the moment of explosion the area appears deserted apart from some parked cars.

The UK’s terror threat level has been raised from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is now judged to be “highly likely”.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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