Flights of Fancy: the debunked Liverpool Airport migrant conspiracy

Hello, readers and welcome to your Monday edition. Jonny here, driving the bus solo today. So strap yourselves in and hold onto your backsides for a rollicking ride through the latest stories from around the city region. 

But first, if you haven’t already, would you mind giving my very first Post story a look?

Are we finally getting the ‘new Baltic Triangle’?

Eight years and a crushed car later, Ten Streets braces for change

The PostJonny Blackburn

It’s a deep-dive into just what is happening with the Ten Streets, long since touted as one of the most exciting regeneration opportunities in the city.  The council seems determined to turn the area into a sort of Baltic Triangle 2 — but what’s taking so long? 

Post readers had a few ideas. Some pointed out a “major issue” facing the whole area, saying the lack of public transport dates back to the loss of the Overhead Railway in the 1950s. Perhaps mayor Rotheram's 'trackless trams' — still, per the combined authority website, on (or off) track for 2028 — could help with this. Or perhaps you take a different view? Join in the debate here. 

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The PostMaisy McDermott

Your Post briefing

Viral Liverpool Airport conspiracy debunked: A viral conspiracy theory claiming the UK government was “flying migrants directly into Liverpool Airport” has been debunked. Last month, an X account under the name ‘Mr Knight’, a “Christian patriot” shared an image of a plane on the tarmac at John Lennon Airport along with the claim that the “UK government is flying migrants directly into Liverpool Airport”. 

The claim was picked up by several well-followed right-wing pages, including the self-styled news account, ‘The Network’, which shared the conspiracy to its more than 30,000 followers. A Reform councillor in Somerset, Stuart Davies  also shared the theory to his near-10,000 followers.

The Liverpool Echo this morning reported there had been “no incoming flights with migrants on board arriving in Liverpool whatsoever” after tracking flight data. However it is “likely”, the paper reports, that the flight may have involved the transportation of Albanian nationals to Albania under government agreements to repatriate people to the Balkan nation.

Everton up for sale: In a surprising turn Friday, it was reported Everton FC’s American owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) were open to a full sale of the club just two years after taking control. The fan reaction to The Athletic’s scoop was generally positive, with TFG in the doghouse with Blues fans after a disastrous transfer deadline day that saw a £45m move for American striker Folarin Balogun collapse. It was reported in September that TFG was looking for fresh investment in the club, but anonymous sources said a sale of the Houston-based group’s majority stake was now being considered. The group also owns Italian side Roma and French club AS Cannes, and is in the process of launching an ice hockey team in Texas. 

Last hold-out on Birkenhead estate dies: Charlie Wright, the last resident of a vanished Birkenhead estate, has died. Mr Wright refused to allow the terraced house on Ilchester Road — which he was born in — be knocked down even when the other 600 council houses on the River Streets estate near Birkenhead North station were pulled down. The story came to national attention a decade ago. Mr Wright died earlier this year aged 74. 

Hunts Cross Merseyrail line closed: Engineering works to strengthen and waterproof the Victorian Northern Line tunnels began on Sunday – in time for Liverpool’s tumultuous match with Manchester City – and will last until November 7th. Rail replacement buses will run between some stations on the route, but reports suggest commuters have already been troubled by confusion about delays and bus ticketing. 

How to spend your week

Liverpool Cathedral is hosting a recital to mark the centenary of its Willis organ on Saturday. Professor Ian Tracey, the Cathedral’s long-time organist, will be leading the performance after choral evensong. If this is right up your steeple, perhaps also mark your diary for Thursday’s illustrated history of the organ. Tickets for both are here. 

This week, the University of Liverpool’s literary festival will host a slew of chats and readings across in the Victoria Gallery. Catch the launch event with poet Roger McGough at the on Friday, a screening of A Hard Days Night and a chat with journalist Samira Ahmed on Saturday, or a discussion about Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s new book about childhood on Sunday. 

If you enjoyed today’s briefing, please consider sharing it with a friend. The Post has almost 36,000 readers now, but we’d love to make it to 40,000 by the end of the year. To keep working on the in-depth, considered reporting we bring you each week, we need to keep growing our community, and you can help us do it. 

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