Liverpool row over anti-yob speakers blaring out 'weaponised' music

It may be world famous as a city of music, but music is now being used in Liverpool as an unlikely weapon in the fight against troublemakers. Classical arrangements have been loudly pumping out of speakers on lampposts in Liverpool's Whitechapel area. The BBC has learned that both Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council are behind the tactic, which they said was "an effective tool" in breaking up groups of youths and "preventing anti-social behaviour". But classically trained musicians in the city said they were angry that it was being "weaponised" against young people, reinforcing stereotypes of it being elitist and exclusive. And they point to the fact that Liverpool City Council puts funding into the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, which runs outreach projects that "use orchestral music making to improve the life chances of children by increasing confidence, well-being, skills and resilience". Laura Macmillan, a conservatoire-trained violinist who now plays in the Liverpool band Ian Prowse and Amsterdam, said: "It makes me feel really angry as a classical musician who, as someone from a working class background, was made to feel that I wasn't good enough to play that kind

Apr 20, 2026 → Apr 20, 2026