Councillors used 'back door' to beat parking fines, Liverpool Echo
In February 2023 the Liverpool Echo published a 16-month investigation by Political Editor Liam Thorp into a back door parking fines scheme at Liverpool City Council and named 14 current and former elected councillors as having been involved. Liam had first been made aware through his sources back in October 2021 of rumours of a scheme in which elected councillors who had received a parking fine had seen their tickets thrown out by senior council officers without going through and of the official channels that ordinary members of the public would have to go through. With the backing of his editors, he set about investigating the rumours. It would take 16 months of hard work, Freedom of Information battles and outright belligerence to get to the truth of the matter. The success of the investigation meant that the ECHO was able to publish the names of the 14 politicians involved, including one former deputy mayor who had seen 17 tickets written off by officers through this backdoor methods. The story received a huge response and plenty of national coverage. Liam was asked to write an editorial on his investigation for The Times and his work was nominated for the prestigious Private Eye Paul Foot Awards in 2023. More importantly, the investigation had major impacts in terms of the councillors who were implicated. One senior Labour councillor quit the council as a direct result of the investigation, while another was blocked from standing for election again. Two others who were named have also left the council. There is no more important role for journalism than in holding those in power to account and this tireless, explosive investigation and the subsequent ramifications proved how vital the regional press is in carrying out that vital duty.