Airport kick video family calls for end to protests

The family of a man who was kicked and stamped on during an arrest at Manchester Airport have asked for "no further protests", their local MP has said.

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh said they had asked "for calm" and for "due process" to be allowed to take place.

Footage of a confrontation at Terminal 2 sparked protests when it began to circulate on Wednesday.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said he regretted the upset the footage had caused, with the force appealing for information on three incidents.

Protesters have demonstrated in Manchester (above) and Rochdale criticising police actions

Mr Waugh posted on X a statement headed "Rochdale Family plea to communities", which said: "The family of the Manchester Airport incident has issued an appeal for calm and healing, requesting that the people refrain from attending the planned Manchester Airport demonstration this weekend.

"We would also not like anyone to be inconvenienced as a result."

The statement added that the family "appreciated the support given" but "urged everyone to respect their wishes during this difficult time".

Mr Waugh said a meeting held in Rochdale on Friday had "made clear that this is a community that strongly believes in the rule of law, that the criminal justice system should follow the evidence wherever it leads, and that offenders should be punished appropriately".

He added: "Those present also rightly stressed that the law should be applied equally to everyone - and that no one, particularly the police, should be above the law."

'Shock and upset'

The footage showed a firearms officer striking a man twice as he was prone on the floor.

A police officer is now facing a criminal investigation and has been suspended from duties.

Protesters in both Rochdale and Manchester have claimed officers had used disproportionate force.

GMP said three officers were assaulted while they were trying to arrest a man following "reports of an altercation between members of the public in Terminal 2".

They said the officers were "punched to the ground", including a female officer who suffered a broken nose.

All three needed hospital treatment, the force said.

"As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them," a GMP representative said.

Four men, aged between 19 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of assault and affray and have since been bailed.

Speaking on Thursday, solicitor Akhmed Yakoob said Muhammad Fahir Amaaz was the man who had been kicked, and that his condition worsened a day after the attack.

He said a a scan revealed "a cyst on his brain".

Mr Yakoob said he was representing both Mr Amaaz and his brother Amaad, who was also involved in the incident.

He added their wider family, who are from Rochdale, included a serving GMP officer and had been left "traumatised".

'Not clear cut'

In a statement on Friday, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said it was "a source of profound regret that this week’s incident at Manchester Airport has caused shock and upset in some of our communities".

He added that they were "constrained in publicly releasing further information or footage about the incident due to the conduct and criminal investigations".

However he said GMP would assist the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog, who are conducting a criminal investigation into the use of force during the incident.

The force is appealing for information on or footage of three incidents, namely:

• An alleged altercation between passengers from Qatar Airways flight QR023, which arrived at 19:20 BST, which occurred either during the flight or in the T2 baggage hall

• A "violent disturbance" involving members of the public in T2 Starbucks at approximately 20:22

• The alleged assault of three police officers which occurred in the T2 car park pay point area at 20:28 and resulted in the officers receiving head injuries, including a broken nose

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said he had seen "the full footage" and said it showed a "fast-moving and complicated situation in a challenging location – it’s not clear cut".

A witness, who was travelling through the terminal with his family, said he saw officers approach a man to arrest him and "pinned him up against a wall".

Amar Minhas, from Leeds, told the BBC that another man tried to intervene and a fight broke out, with the pinned man throwing punches until he was Tasered to the floor, when the officer kicked him.