GARY Poland had picked up the 17 year old killer on his Taxi and took him to the Hart Space Dance Studio, in Southport, on the day of the attack, has had his Taxi Licence revoked.
Sefton Council condemned the decision after seeing the dash cam footage which was played at the public inquiry. The footage showed Poland driving away from the scene as screening children piled out of the building his customer had just entered, on:- 29 July 2026.
The Inquiry also heard Poland, a minute after leaving Hart Street had made a call, to a friend who worked nearby the venue, to ask if he had heard gunshots.
At the Inquiry heard Poland had said that on the day he had believed the killer, who used the name Simon while booking the taxi, had:- "just fucking shot everyone."
It's then reported that after he:- "fled the scene" he waited:- 50 minutes before calling:- 999, about the incident.
In a statement read to the Public Inquiry, Poland said:- "I consider that I should have called Police earlier. In hindsight, I wish I had done and it's something that I do think about every day, what I should have done and how this is my fault because I drove him there. I should have checked on the welfare of the children and helped. I thought there was a gunman shooting at people and I believed this to be the person who I had just been shouting at to pay me a fare and threatened to call the Police, so I did believe that I was in danger of being a target. I regret not helping the children. Their screams were harrowing and I can still hear them when I think back to that day."
Sefton Council condemned the decision after seeing the dash cam footage which was played at the public inquiry. The footage showed Poland driving away from the scene as screening children piled out of the building his customer had just entered, on:- 29 July 2026.
The Inquiry also heard Poland, a minute after leaving Hart Street had made a call, to a friend who worked nearby the venue, to ask if he had heard gunshots.
At the Inquiry heard Poland had said that on the day he had believed the killer, who used the name Simon while booking the taxi, had:- "just fucking shot everyone."
It's then reported that after he:- "fled the scene" he waited:- 50 minutes before calling:- 999, about the incident.
In a statement read to the Public Inquiry, Poland said:- "I consider that I should have called Police earlier. In hindsight, I wish I had done and it's something that I do think about every day, what I should have done and how this is my fault because I drove him there. I should have checked on the welfare of the children and helped. I thought there was a gunman shooting at people and I believed this to be the person who I had just been shouting at to pay me a fare and threatened to call the Police, so I did believe that I was in danger of being a target. I regret not helping the children. Their screams were harrowing and I can still hear them when I think back to that day."
When asked why he didn't help, in a statement to the Inquiry he said:- "This was terrifying. I was in a state of complete mortal terror and shock.""
As a result of The Council’s Licensing Committee findings they found that Gary Poland:- "Did not meet the appropriate standards" when giving the reason for stripping his Taxi Licence.
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