A former colleague of Paul Doyle, the man jailed for driving into Liverpool FC fans, has revealed a history of violent and aggressive behaviour in the workplace that foreshadowed last year's horrific attack.
History of Workplace Aggression and Intimidation
Paul Doyle, 54, was sentenced to 21 and a half years in prison on Tuesday at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, affray, and 29 other charges related to grievous bodily harm. The court heard how he drove into crowds celebrating Liverpool FC's title win in May, injuring more than 130 supporters.
Now, a former workmate from a large multinational engineering company in north-west England, where Doyle was employed as a network engineer between 2006 and 2008, has come forward to detail a pattern of concerning conduct. The colleague, who asked not to be named, described Doyle as a "loose cannon" whose anger issues were evident years before the parade incident.
The Go-Karting Assault and Italian Motorway Incident
One particularly alarming event occurred during a work social event at a go-karting track. According to the ex-colleague, Doyle became enraged after a fellow employee cut in front of him on the track. Doyle stopped his kart, pulled the other man from his vehicle, pinned him against a wall by the throat, and screamed in his face. The witness confirmed the strength required to haul a grown man from the kart, noting the altercation lasted several minutes before others intervened.
The other driver involved, who also wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the incident to the Daily Mail, stating Doyle "has anger problems" and would attack rather than argue. He believed it was a "mental problem" related to controlling his temper.
In a separate incident in 2007, during a work trip to Italy, Doyle became impatient with motorway roadworks. He drove along a coned-off lane to bypass the queue, a reckless act his colleague at the time dismissed as "banter" but for which he called Doyle "f****** crazy".
Dismissal and a Pattern of Deceit
Doyle was eventually dismissed from his IT role after complaints about him being "aggressive" towards his line manager, who reportedly labelled him a "psychopath". The ex-colleague recalled Doyle being escorted from the premises while "yelling, swearing, getting really aggressive" and shouting denials.
While Doyle had spoken of being thrown out of the Royal Marines for fighting and a past incident 30 years ago where he bit a sailor's ear off during a drunken brawl—for which he served 12 months in prison—the colleague was unaware of the jail term. He believes Doyle did not disclose this to his employers.
The revelations cast significant doubt on claims Doyle had kept out of trouble for the three decades following his early release. His ex-colleague, who had relatives at the fateful parade, said the attack "beggars belief" but hearing Doyle was responsible "did not come as a shock".
He concluded that Doyle's conduct during the Liverpool attack, seen in distressing dashcam footage, was "the kind of behaviour I expected from Paul", criticising him for not immediately owning up to his actions.
