Former Floriana FC president Vaughan jailed for helping murderer flee UK

The former president of Floriana FC, boxing promoter Stephen Vaughan, has been jailed for 15 months for helping the killers of a police officer flee the country.

Stephen Vaughan junior, 31, allowed his sister’s boyfriend Timmy Donovan to borrow his Mercedes, which he used to escape to Germany in the hours after the officer was killed.

Vaughan admitting perverting the course of justice by allowing Donovan to use his vehicle to “evade apprehension or prosecution by police”.

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Contsable Neil Doyle, 36, was killed during a confrontation with football agent Andrew Taylor, 29, and sports event manager Donovan, 30, on a Christmas night out in Liverpool. Doyle died from an injury to a neck artery.

The off-duty policeman died after he was struck in Colquitt Street on 19 December 2015.

Two men, Taylor and Christopher Spendlove, were arrested, but Donovan fled to mainland Europe. Donovan was not arrested until January 21, 2015 at Dusseldorf airport in Germany. He was finally extradited home on 24 March.

Donavan is the boyfriend of Vaughan’s sister Tess.

Vaughan was stopped by police driving Donovan’s Audi Q3, and when questioned about the whereabouts of his own Merceds and asked for its registration number, he gave a number that was wrong by one digit, which he said was a simple mistake.

Vaughan is the son of businessman Stephen Vaughan senior, and has one previous conviction, a 12-month community order and unpaid work for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour causing fear of violence in 2011.

Taylor, of Cherry Tree Road, Huyton, was jailed for seven years and six months, and Donovan was jailed for six years and 10 months, after they were found guilty of manslaughter.