Police 'damned if they do, damned if they don't' in revealing suspect's ethnicity
We know the suspect in yesterday's incident is a 53-year-old white man from the Liverpool area.
He's still in custody, little more than 24 hours after Merseyside Police quickly revealed where he is from and his ethnicity.
Dal Babu, the former chief superintendent of London's Metropolitan Police, told us this was a "brave decision" and "one of the lessons from Southport".
Last summer, right-wing figures spread false information on social media about the identity of the attacker in the Southport attacks, ultimately leading to riots.
"I don't think this necessarily sets a precedent, but it does give an indication that there have been some lessons learned from Southport," Babu told our presenter Matt Barbet.
"Where there is a void, and that void was filled by right-wing extremists who were spreading malicious rumours, and which then subsequently led to the riots and disorder."
Babu said despite the force's quick clarification, he saw misinformation spread on social media, with some users disputing the police's account.
Asked if the force could have just said this incident is not being treated as terrorism without referencing ethnicity, Babu said that's "one of the things police will be looking at".
"They wouldn't have done this lightly," he added.
"They would have seen the fact that last year, when there was a vacuum, people, basically, filled it with their own understanding or prejudice that they had.
"So, you know, the police are in a very, very difficult situation. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't."
But could more have been done to prevent the incident?
Babu said we need more details before reviewing what more - if anything - could have been done, but in any case it's a difficult operation across a 10-mile route.
"You have to balance it with having a parade where people have accessibility, to making sure that those people along the 10 miles who are not Liverpool and are not going to the parade, who want to carry on with their normal life, have an opportunity to access their homes, their workplaces and do other things," he said.
"So it's getting the balance right."