Sims says there is an extensive investigation into the incident now under way in Liverpool.

She asks people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and again asks the public not to share distressing content online.

"I have no doubt regarding the impact that this appalling incident has had on those who were injured, their family and friends," she says.

She adds that it's heartening the "human impact" on emergency services has been recognised, and thanks the public.

The joy of the day dissipated after a car collided with people on Water Street, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Jenny Sims says.

The police have worked extensively with event organisers in the months leading up to a potential parade, Sims notes.

A robust traffic management plan was in place, she continues, saying there were road closures in place throughout the parade route – including Water Street, which had been closed to local traffic.

Image source, Reuters

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims starts the Merseyside Police news conference.

She begins by thanking victims and witnesses who have assisted the police investigation.

Sims then describes the scenes in Liverpool before the incident, where she says hundreds of thousands of fans had lined the streets to support the football team's success in the Premier League.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Merseyside Police HQ

I’m with around 100 journalists from across the globe at Merseyside Police HQ.

We were due to start at 15:00 BST, but there has been a slight delay.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Merseyside Police HQ

I'm at Merseyside Police HQ where in a short while we'll get an update about the incident on Water Street yesterday.

Speaking for Merseyside Police will be Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims and Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill.

We'll bring you all the key lines from the news conference, which you'll also be able to watch live at the top of this page.

Meanwhile, in Liverpool city centre, forensic workers are continuing to collect evidence from Water Street - where the car drove into a crowd.

Here are the latest images we're seeing of the operation:

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

There's been another royal statement - this one from the Prince and Princess of Wales.

They say:

"We are deeply saddened by the scenes in Liverpool yesterday. What should have been a joyful celebration ended with tragedy.

"Our thoughts are with those who were injured and to the first responders and emergency services on the ground."

A statement's just been released by Buckingham Palace, saying the King and Queen Camilla were "deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the terrible events that took place in Liverpool on Monday".

"It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for so many could end in such distressing circumstances," the statement, signed by the King, goes on.

It adds: "At this heartbreaking time for the people of Liverpool, I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need."

• In case you didn't know: The King and Queen are currently in Ottawa to mark the opening session of Canada's parliament. The monarch's due to deliver what's known as the Throne speech, last read by a head of state - Queen Elizabeth II - in 1977. We've got a separate live page taking this in: it's being run by our North American colleagues and you can follow it here.

Image source, Getty Images

We're continuing to gather a lot of testimony from people who were in Liverpool when yesterday's tragic events unfolded - here's another small selection of some of the stories people have shared with us:

Northern Irish couple David and Breda Wilkinson say they just managed to jump out of the way of the vehicle. "If it hadn't have been beeping the horn - it would have hit us," David says.

Arriving back at his Airbnb accommodation on Water Street after watching the parade, Dumisni Moyo describes how he was shocked to find people "lying hurt on the floor".

Hannah Davies, a Liverpool fan from Wales, similarly describes seeing "people on the ground", and adds that she is still "shaking even thinking about it".

Meanwhile, mum Deborah tells BBC Radio 5 Live of "the longest 40 minutes" of her life, as she struggled to get in contact with her son who had attended the title parade.

How the incident unfoldedpublished at 13:58 British Summer Time 27 May

13:58 BST 27 May

By Benedict Garman, Joshua Cheetham and Richard Irvine-Brown

BBC Verify has examined videos of the incident in which a car drove into a crowd during Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on Monday evening.

The BBC's Merlyn Thomas talks through how the events unfolded, in this short video:

Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Liverpool city centre

Just a day ago, Water Street in the centre of Liverpool was packed with fans - happy, joyous, jubilant football supporters - many from around the world.

Today, the remnants of those celebrations are scattered across what has now become a crime scene: champagne bottles, beer cans, discarded drinks containers, teams flags.

Police tape cordons off the road, a police van and a tent - which you can see in our last post - mark the spot where the car ended its chaotic and tragic journey.

As investigations continue, theories about what happened continue to fly around this city. No-one quite knows what led to the car striking so many people.

But one thing many fans are sure of is just how unbreakable the spirit of Liverpool fans is. This is a club which has endured many tragedies before.

"Our thoughts go to those who were injured," Jacob and Sam, who've travelled here from Australia, tell me. But, they add, "let’s not forget why we all gathered yesterday, what brought people together in the first place - our football club.”

Image source, PA Media

Messages of support continue to pour in after a car was driven into a crowd in Liverpool city centre during yesterday's celebrations to mark Liverpool FC winning the Premier League.

Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said early this morning that there were "still four people who are very, very ill in hospital". We heard yesterday that 27 people were taken to hospital, and that two people, including one child, suffered serious injuries.

The mayor said there's a "big question" over how the car was able to plough into crowds during the parade.

We've not had an official update from Merseyside Police since last night. We know a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area, believed to be the driver, was arrested yesterday, and that Merseyside Police said the incident was not being treated as terror-related.

The BBC's Daniel Sandford says it is striking how quickly the police released information about the man's nationality and ethnicity - and that it shows lessons have been learned since the Southport attack last summer.

We've heard from a lot of people who were at the scene yesterday who say the street was crowded and the car was beeping as it drove through the crowd - we have a brief round-up of what we've heard from eyewitnesses here.

BBC Verify has also been analysing some of the footage of the incident that's been shared online - they've so far highlighted four key moments.

We'll continue to bring you the latest lines as we get them this afternoon.

Ranjini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Liverpool city centre

Shen, who travelled from Shanghai in China to attend the parade, says she was a mere 10 metres away from the car when it ploughed into the crowd.

"I saw many people screaming and crying on the street," she tells me, adding that a day of "paradise turned to hell".

I caught up with her this morning, next to the police cordon on Water Street. Watch our conversation below:

What we know: Four key momentspublished at 13:15 British Summer Time 27 May

13:15 BST 27 May

By Richard Irvine-Brown and Josh Cheetham

BBC Verify is analysing more than a dozen videos posted on social media that show what happened during the incident at Liverpool’s victory parade.

So far, we’ve identified four key moments:

1. Early scenes

One of the earliest verified videos show a grey Ford on Dale St trying to make its way through the crowd before reversing into someone. One person punches the car, another kicks it, before the vehicle reverses again and then suddenly accelerates forward. Someone smashes the car’s rear window as it drives away.

2. Collision with the crowd

In the next series of videos, the car is seen about 700ft (210m) away on Water St. Police are trying to control the situation. The vehicle then drives into the crowd at speed, hitting dozens of people and knocking them to the ground.

3. Car stops

Footage then shows the car has stopped, its rear window completely shattered. It’s quickly surrounded by angry onlookers and police form a circle around the car.

4. The aftermath

Later videos show ambulances and police responding. Injured people are treated at the scene while others confront officers.

We'll bring you a video soon, showing a timeline of how events unfolded.

Liverpool FC captain Virgil van Dijk has just posted on his Instagram story saying his "thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected."

Alongside a photo of the city's Liver Building behind red smoke, Van Dijk continues by saying "praying for a speedy recovery for everyone who suffered injuries.

"We are all with you."

• As a reminder: The incident happened at the end of a victory parade for Liverpool FC's Premier League win. Thousands of people had lined the city's streets to see players - including Van Dijk - celebrating on an open-top bus.

Image source, PA Media

Why police released details about the suspect so quicklypublished at 12:46 British Summer Time 27 May

12:46 BST 27 May

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Within two hours of a driver ploughing into crowds in Liverpool yesterday, Merseyside Police said they had arrested a "53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area".

It was striking how quickly police shared the man's nationality and ethnicity.

The decision shows lessons have already been learned from the Southport attacks last summer, when online speculation and disinformation filled a void after the same force released little detail about the 17-year-old they had in custody.

Usually when a suspect is arrested, police forces in England and Wales just give out the age of the person and where they were arrested.

But at 19:53 BST yesterday, the force emailed out a press release including the suspect's age, nationality and ethnicity.

It was a clear attempt to damp down inaccurate speculation on social media that the Ford Galaxy driving into Liverpool fans was part of an Islamist terrorist attack, or was in any way linked to migrants.

Merseyside Police acted "very, very quickly" to stamp out speculation on social media that had caused "real consternation", Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has said.

• For more on this, read Daniel's analysis in full

Jenny Coleman
Reporting from Liverpool city centre

This lunchtime, prayers are being said at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, during the installation of the new Archbishop John Sherrington.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Merseyside-born Cardinal Vincent Nichols, says everyone will be thinking about those affected by what happened yesterday.

Emergency services are yet to give an update on those injured, but Cardinal Nichols says the trauma of yesterday's events on Water Street will last for a long time.

Everton Football club - the other Premier League team in Liverpool - has just released a new statement saying it is "deeply saddened" by yesterday's incident on Water Street.

The club says its "thoughts are with all those affected at this incredibly difficult time".

The statement also urges people with information to contact Merseyside Police.

"As a city we stand together," the club concludes.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

In our last post we heard from Ross Welsh, a Liverpool fan who was at the parade yesterday. The BBC has spoken to several other eyewitnesses - here's what some of them have told us:

Matthew O'Carroll, 28, from Runcorn, said the car was travelling at a "decent" speed and that the driver had been beeping as he went through the crowd.

A woman called Chelsea, who was at the parade with her friend and her friend's daughter, said the car "skimmed us" and it would have hit them if the horn was not going off.

BBC reporter Matt Cole described seeing a car ploughing through the crowd that "just wasn't stopping", adding that it was being chased by a group of men "trying to bang on the side of it and throw things at it".

Harry Rashid said he also saw people hitting the vehicle's windows before it ploughed forward, with some managing to briefly open the door.

Ross Welsh, who travelled to the parade from Lisburn, just outside of Belfast, says he had to jump out of the way to avoid the vehicle yesterday.

He says cars on Water Street were able to pass further up on the road, but the driver of the vehicle "navigated" past a 'road closed' sign.

"Then there it was beeping and it screeched its tyres to brake," he tells BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show.

"We had to jump to get out of the way," he says. "It wasn't very, very close, but it was close enough that we felt we had to get out of the way quick."