  The Liverpool Telescope, situated at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La
Palma, Canaries, is the first 2-m, fully instrumented robotic telescope. It
recently began observations. Among Liverpool Telescope's primary scientific
goals is to monitor variable objects on all timescales from seconds to years.
An additional benefit of its robotic operation is rapid reaction to
unpredictable phenomena and their systematic follow up, simultaneous or
coordinated with other facilities. The Target of Opportunity Programme of the
Liverpool Telescope includes the prompt search for and observation of GRB and
XRF counterparts. A special over-ride mode implemented for GRB/XRF follow-up
enables observations commencing less than a minute after the alert, including
optical and near infrared imaging and spectroscopy. In particular, the moderate
aperture and rapid automated response make the Liverpool Telescope excellently
suited to help solving the mystery of optically dark GRBs and for the
investigation of currently unstudied short bursts and XRFs.
