Daily news bulletin: new Liverpool bomber questions and green light for bikes

Liverpool Women’s Hospital bomber Emad Al Swealmeen had an asylum claim dismissed more than six years before he tried to carry out the attack.

The information revealed in newly obtained court documents raises fresh questions for the Home Office.

The Government department has repeatedly refused to explain why Al Swealmeen was not removed from the UK once his claim and appeal were rejected.

Al Swealmeen died from the blast and subsequent fire after his homemade bomb detonated in a taxi outside the hospital shortly before 11.00 on Sunday, 14 November.

Public urged to vote on name for new Baltic station

New images showing what the new station in the Baltic Triangle might look like have been revealed, as an online vote opens to decide on its new name. The three names to choose from are: Liverpool Baltic, Liverpool Parliament Street and Liverpool Riverside.

The public vote is open until 17:00 on Friday, 18 February, and can be accessed here. 

The original St James station opened in 1874 and was named after the nearby parish church. It closed in 1917 as a cost-cutting measure during the First World War and was never re-opened.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has pledged to build a station on the site, which will be located in one of the fastest growing areas of the city, near to the former Cains Brewery and Anglican Cathedral.

The area has undergone huge redevelopment in recent years, seeing it become home to a diverse range of over 350 creative and digital industries, with over 1,000 apartments built since 2012 and plans for at least 3,000 more, alongside the various popular creative and leisure facilities that have opened.

Cycle lane funding approved

Members of the local authority’s cabinet gave the go-ahead to implement almost two million pounds worth of funding to install new pop-up cycle lines around the city.

This is the second batch of cycle lanes installed across the city, with four routes already in place.

The cash boost was made available through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (CA) to support the process of relaxing travel restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic.