Off-duty PC Neil Doyle murder suspect arrested

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an off-duty police constable in Liverpool.

The suspect, 28, was detained after the death of Neil Doyle, who was attacked while off duty near the Aloha Club in the city centre early on Friday.

Merseyside Police said the suspect handed himself in and is being interviewed.

PC Doyle, 36, was with two colleagues when they were assaulted on Colquitt Street, during a Christmas night out.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died as a result of a fatal bleed around the brain after major blood vessels were damaged. The injury was consistent with an assault, the force said.

A line of inquiry for investigators is that the three men were attacked after being recognised as police officers, although a force spokesman stressed it was "not a set-in-stone motive".

PC Doyle had been due to go on honeymoon with his wife Sarah, next month.

In a statement she said: "Neil was very well loved by all of his family, friends and colleagues and it is a great loss to us all.

"We are finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with what has happened and need time to be left to grieve."

Speaking at a news conference, Chief Constable Sir Jon Murphy said: "On behalf of everybody connected with Merseyside Police, I extend our heartfelt and sincere condolences to his wife Sarah and the rest of his family.

"The three officers were subject to an apparently unprovoked attack by a group of males.

"Following intensive emergency treatment at the scene Constable Doyle was taken to Royal Liverpool Hospital, where he sadly died a short time later."

Merseyside Police Federation chairman Peter Singleton said PC Doyle was "a good cop that any officer would be proud to call a colleague".

"Neil was the kind of officer the police service is built on. This is devastating news," he said.