Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week you’ll know about the awful murders in Paris at the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine. I watched it unfold in real time. It was horrifying. The idea that a couple of men with guns could simply walk into your office and gun your and your friends down for expressing an opinion is insane. It’s insane. I sat in my studio thinking that it could happen right now to everyone here. Terrifying.

Today in France there was a rally of support. They say around 1.5 million people marched through the streets of Paris. 1.5 million. Amazing. I heard there would be a rally in Liverpool. I didn’t know what to expect. 1 person? 1,000? I arrived to find around 100 people but by the time the rally had worked its way around town there was closer to 500 people. I’m always proud of this city but even more so at times like this.

I imagine, and hope that these scenes were echoed in every major city world wide. We simply cannot live in fear of being gunned down for expressing ourselves. Should I expect a knock on the door minutes after hitting publish on this post? Of course not. No-one should.

Je suis Charlie.