2024 Manchester Airport brawl

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2024 Manchester Airport brawl
Manchester Airport brawl CCTV.png
Screenshot of CCTV footage of the altercation
Location Manchester Airport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
DateJuly 23, 2024
Attack type
 Punching by fist
Deaths0
Injured3
VictimsOfficer Ward, officer Cook, officer Marsden, passenger Ismaeli
AssailantsMuhammed Amaad, Mohammed Amaaz
VerdictGuilty (Amaaz)
Convictions Assault (Amaaz)

The 2024 Manchester Airport brawl was an altercation that took place at Manchester Airport on 23 July 2024. The fight involved two brothers, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad, and three Greater Manchester Police officers whom the brothers allegedly assaulted. [1] The brothers claimed they were acting in self-defense. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was convicted of assault in 2025. [2]

Contents

Police attended the airport's carpark following reports of an altercation between the brothers and another individual. Acting on a description of the alleged perpetrators, officers attempted to handcuff Amaaz. Both brothers retaliated against the police, kicking and punching the officers multiple times. Amaad surrenders, and Amaaz is subdued by taser. Both men were taken into custody on the scene. [3] The incident was captured on CCTV camera and police body cameras.

The footage appeared to show an armed officer stomping and kicking the head of Amaaz, who was lying on the ground after being subdued. The incident sparked heated reactions in British society, making many people accuse Manchester police of racism. Nationwide protests were held in response. The officer was temporarily suspended from his job. [4] [5] Three officers were injured as a result of the incident, [6] and misinformation about officers' injuries and Islamophobic comments were made online. [7]

The story received widespread coverage in media, being reported by One News, Al-Jazeera English and CNN. British political figures, like Tommy Robinson and George Galloway, reacted to the incident on social media. Reform UK member Lee Anderson showed his support for the officer who kicked the man in the head. Reform UK said that they would file lawsuits against the men if GMP refused to file charges against them. [8] [9] Prime minister Keir Starmer also reacted to the incident. [10]

Incident

Altercation

On July 23, 2024, at approximately 7:20 p.m., a fight was reported involving multiple passengers of Qatar Airways flight QR023 in Manchester Airport. A second call about the altercation was made at 8:20 p.m., claiming it had occurred in the Starbucks of the airport's terminal two. A third call about the incident was made at 8:30 p.m. in the car park area of the airport. The police arrived to the scene and found the two brothers, 25 year-old Muhammed Amaad, 20 year-old Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, as well as the mother of the duo, 56 year-old Shameem Akhtar. [11] [12]

The altercation was caused by an argument that ensued between the brothers and an alleged victim, known as Ismaeil, who was headbutted and punched twice by one of the brothers. Police officers Lydia Ward and Zachary Marsden were informed over the radio that the brother who headbutted Ismaeil was wearing a blue tracksuit. [13] The officers headed to the terminal's car park payment station to make an arrest. [14] The officers tried to move Amaaz away from the payment station in order to handcuff him, but he resisted. As they were struggling, Amaad started attacking the officers, kicking and punching officer Marsden six times. Amaaz broke free from the police and started attacking them, delivering ten punches to multiple officers, including one to the face of Lydia Ward. Amaaz put his arm on Marsden's neck from behind as he fell on the ground, resulting in Marsden deploying a taser against him. [15]

Footage from the scene also showed Amaaz striking firearms officer Cook two times with his elbow before being tased. As he was on the ground, officer Marsden kicked him in the head. Marsden justified this action in court, saying Amaaz was not listening to his commands to put his arms behind his back and was trying to get up so he had to "stun" him by striking his face. [3] While the officer was kicking Amaaz's face, some bystanders were heard shouting; "stop kicking people," another said; "move back". [16] Amaaz's mother tried to protect him by shielding his head with her hand. A nearby bystander filming the event was pepper sprayed. [17]

Immediate aftermath

Body camera footage from the scene showed officer Ward, who was unarmed during the fight, crying as blood dripped from her face. It was later confirmed that she suffered a broken nose. [18] [19] In total, four men, including the two brothers, were arrested at the airport. [9] [16] Three officers were injured and suffered various head injuries. [6] A CT scan after incident revealed that Amaaz suffered a cyst on his brain. His lawyer said that he was "fighting for his life" in the hospital. Akhtar was also injured during the fight. [20] [21] Her injuries were reportedly caused by her being whipped by a taser that started a bleeding in her cheek. [22]

Brothers's narrative

In August 2024, Amaaz, Amaad, Akhtar, and their lawyer Aamer Anwar held a press conference and spoke with journalists. [23] Anwar claimed that the initial incident between the brothers and the other passenger, Ismaeil, was precipitated by the latter verbally abusing Akhtar in Doha and on the flight. He claimed Akhtar's sons were present to pick her and her six-year-old grandson up from the airport. Amaaz and Amaad confronted the man, resulting in an argument. The family then went to the car park to pay for a parking space, where they encountered police. Anwar claimed the police grabbed Amaaz by the head and slammed him into the ticket machine, without making an attempt to communicate with him. The officer then allegedly grabbed his neck, to which Amaad asked the officer to stop but was punched twice and tased. Amaaz ran at the officers but was also tased and fell. His head was then stomped on by the officer. The officer then kicked Amaad before whipping his head with a taser. The lawyer stated one officer told Amaad: "You dirty fucking cunt, you think you can hit my officers. I am going to kill you when I see you, in my uniform or out". He said Akhtar had been hit with the taser in the face during the scuffle and started bleeding from her cheek, she fell to the ground and remained here before being helped by a stranger. [22] [24]

Pre-trial

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) made a statement on July 25, 2024, saying that they have opened a criminal investigation and intend to interrogate the officer who kicked the man in the head "as soon as possible". [25] The statement noted that the investigation does not mean they will pursue criminal charges against the officers. [26] Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the arrested brothers were released after paying bail, but gave no information on their health. GMP described the incident as "truly shocking". [27] One of the officers involved was suspended from his duties, and a second was investigated for assault. [28]

On August 1, 2024, a lawyer representing the brothers contacted IOPC to file a complaint against the officers. On August 8, IOPC began investigating an officer for gross misconduct and assault. [28] On December 20, 2024, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged the brothers with multiple crimes. Amaaz was charged with two counts of "causing actual bodily harm", one count of "assaulting an emergency worker" and one count of "common assault" while Amaad was charged with one count of "causing actual bodily harm". [29] CPS had decided that they will not charge any officers involved in the incident as they doubt they have enough evidence. [30]

Trial

On July 5, 2025, the first day of the trial began in Crown Court. The jury was shown videos of the incident as evidence, and the brothers told the jury that they were acting in self defense. [31] In a July 9 court hearing, pictures of injuries that the brothers' mother suffered were shown to the court. Officer Marsden was present in the courtroom and stated that there was no evidence that his actions caused the injuries. He said that Amaad may have accidentally punched her during the scuffle. [32] During a hearing on July 10, officer Ward told the court that she was "absolutely terrified" after being punched by the brothers and that she never experienced such violence in her life. [33] During a July 24 hearing, the prosecutor said the brothers used a "high level of violence" against the officers, and that one of them being kicked was irrelevant to their actions. [34]

On July 31, Amaaz was found guilty of assaulting officer Ward, officer Cook and civilian Ismaeil. He was not convicted of assaulting officer Marsden because jurors could not agree on a verdict. [5] The jury was not able to reach an agreement on Amaad's assault charge either, and the brothers will be retried on the charges in the future. Following the verdict, Amaaz was arrested in the courtroom, where he was then taken to jail to await his sentence. [35] [36]

Akhmed Yakoob, former lawyer for the brothers, was charged with money laundering in July, with the court saying he "wanted help to launder cash of millions of pounds". [37] [38] In August 2025, leaked CCTV camera footage of the altercation was made public by Manchester Evening News . The footage was longer than the previous one and showed more context behind the incident. That same month, IOPC confirmed that they have started a criminal investigation on an alleged officer who leaked the video. Mayor Andy Burnham said he was concerned about the legality of releasing the footage to the public. [39] [40] In response to the investigation, an op-ed by MEN writer Sarah Lester was published, saying that investigating the alleged leak is a "bad decision" and that many high-profile figures of the Manchester community and police were grateful for the video and thanked the newspaper. [41]

Reactions

Political figures and organizations

Two days after the incident, far-right activist Tommy Robinson and politician George Galloway posted the footage of the incident on the internet. Politician Lee Anderson of Reform UK supported the officer and said he would "give him a medal". [8] Muslim Council of Britain and Muslim Engagement and Development condemned the incident. [42] Politician Paul Waugh of Co-operative Party said he spoke with family members of the brothers and condemned the involved police. Akhmed Yakoob also condemned the officers and accused them of police brutality. [43] Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham urged the protesters to remain calm, describing the incident as "complicated" that has "issues for both sides." He later discussed the incident with IOPC and politician Yvette Cooper of Labour Party. [44]

Prime Minister Keir Starmer also reacted to the incident, saying he watched the footage and "understands the public's concern". [10] Shaista Gohir called the incident an "example of police brutality". [45] On October 7, 2024, multiple parliament members of Reform UK said that they are going to sue Amaaz and Amaad if the police decide not to press charges against them and that they will use crowdfunding to fund prosecutor for the case. [46] Lawyer Akhmed Yakoob responded to Reform UK's comments, saying; "If Reform want to pursue a private prosecution, I for one would gladly see them lose thousands of pounds". [47]

Social media and misinformation

Footage of the incident was released to the public days after the incident and quickly became popular on social media. Users showed largely negative reactions, condemning the officers and accusing them of police brutality. [48] Misinformation was later spread on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. [49] One example was a post claiming to show a photo of female officer's nose injuries from the brawl. The photo was real but was taken in 2020 in Leicestershire during a separate incident where a female officer was also punched in the face. One post featuring the misleading photo gathered 600,000 views. The photo had been reposted more than a hundred times on Twitter and Facebook. Islamophobic comments were also made, with one user blaming "the religion of peace" for the officers' injuries. [7] [50] In August 2024, the family of the brothers claimed they experienced "racist and Islamophobic" attacks on social media and are "traumatized". [51]

A Facebook comment criticizing the brothers made by a 56 year-old Preston College teacher led to an investigation and ultimately being fired from his job for "gross misconduct." He sued the college in response. [52] Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, had condemned the "misinformation" linked with the incident. The party's officials said GMP did not release the footage of the altercation immediately in order to create a "false impression" of officers attacking the brothers first, leading to protests of the false accusations and misinformation against them. [53] In September 2025, a Twitter post, viewed 740,000 times, complained about how Mohammed Amaaz was not in prison. Reuters rated the claim as "missing context", as Amaaz is not serving a prison sentence but is in pre-trial detention awaiting his next court hearing. [54]

Other

The video footage of the altercation received wordwide recognition, with news outlets like CNN, Al-Jazeera English, and One News covering the story. [8] On July 25, 2024, a protest in response to the incident was organized near GMP police station; over 200 people participated. The protesters shouted "GMP shame on you". [55] They held signs reading "GMP is racist" and "Black Lives Matter". [38] On July 26, Akhmed Yakoob, lawyer of the brothers' family, was interviewed by LBC News . He compared the incident to an "attempted assassination". [56] That phrase, along with him claiming Amaaz was "fighting for his life", caused him to face criticism. On July 29, he announced his retirement from his position, claiming the media tried to "sabotage" him. [57] Dal Babu, former police superintendent, was interviewed by BBC Radio 4. He said that the officers used excessive force and racism may have influenced their actions. [48]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Man guilty of Manchester Airport attack on police officers". BBC News . July 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ "What caused the Manchester Airport brawl? Footage shows how violence erupted". BBC News . July 30, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Stavrou, Athena (July 8, 2025). "Jury shown footage of 'brothers in Manchester Airport brawl with police officers'". The Independent .
  4. ↑ Ehlinger, Maija (July 26, 2024). "Videos of police beating men at UK airport spark outcry as force reports itself to watchdog". CNN .
  5. 1 2 Christodoulou, Holly (July 31, 2025). "Man who brawled with cops in Manchester Airport guilty of assault after chaos sparked nationwide protests". News.com.au .
  6. 1 2 Robertson, Adam (July 28, 2024). "New footage shows lead-up to police incident at Manchester Airport". The National .
  7. 1 2 Robson, Steve (July 26, 2024). "Misinformation spreads over Manchester airport arrests as family plead for calm". The i Paper . Archived from the original on September 9, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Halliday, Josh (July 27, 2024). "Fears Rochdale could 'boil over' as outsiders stir division over Manchester airport video". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077.
  9. 1 2 Heren, Kit (October 7, 2024). "Reform UK to bring private prosecution of men in Manchester Airport fight with police". LBC News .
  10. 1 2 Holden, Michael (December 20, 2024). "Two brothers charged over UK airport brawl with police". Reuters .
  11. ↑ Barlow, Eleanor (December 20, 2024). "Timeline of events relating to incident at Manchester Airport". The Independent .
  12. ↑ Rehman, Atika (July 29, 2024). "No one has full picture of airport assault, says Manchester mayor". Dawn .
  13. ↑ Scheerhout, John (July 31, 2025). "The Manchester Airport trial: Exactly how the violence started". Manchester Evening News .
  14. ↑ Bagdi, Annabal; Cardy, Phil (July 4, 2025). "Moment 'man headbutted at Manchester Airport before brawl with police'". Birmingham Live .
  15. ↑ "Jurors shown CCTV footage of brothers' alleged assault of police officers at Manchester airport". The Guardian . July 7, 2025. ISSN   0261-3077.
  16. 1 2 Hannah, Claria (July 25, 2024). "Police officer filmed 'stamping on man's head' at Manchester Airport". ITV News .
  17. ↑ Tetzlaff-Deas, Benedict (July 25, 2024). "All the facts about how protests broke out after man kicked in head at airport". The Daily Mirror .
  18. ↑ Scheerhout, John; Banner, Megan (July 11, 2025). "Body-cam footage shows officer sobbing after airport attack". Liverpool Echo .
  19. ↑ Ehsan, Rakib (July 12, 2025). "Manchester Airport video raises questions over police toughness". UnHerd Magazine .
  20. ↑ Donnelly, Dylan; Gillespie, Tom (July 26, 2024). "Manchester airport video: Mayor Andy Burnham says incident during which police officer kicked man in head isn't 'clear cut'". Sky News .
  21. ↑ "Manchester Airport brawl officer 'was bully with a badge', jury told". BBC News . July 25, 2025.
  22. 1 2 "Airport incident: mother was 'attacked' by police, family lawyer tells media". The Rochdale Observer . August 10, 2024.
  23. ↑ Gawne, Ewan; McCann, Phil (August 6, 2024). "Fresh allegations over Manchester Airport police kick incident". BBC News .
  24. ↑ George, Thomas (August 6, 2024). "Mum in Manchester Airport video reveals injuries after being 'attacked'". Manchester Evening News .
  25. ↑ "UK police officer under criminal investigation over airport incident". Al-Jazeera . July 26, 2024.
  26. ↑ Croft, Alex (July 28, 2024). "Mystery surrounds Manchester Airport attack and what happened on Qatar flight". Daily Record .
  27. ↑ "Video of U.K. police officer kicking and stamping on a man's head sparks protest". NBC News . July 25, 2024.
  28. 1 2 Wells, Andy; Marchant, Natalie; Manning, Allen (October 7, 2024). "What we know about Manchester Airport video footage". Yahoo News .
  29. ↑ Evans, Martin (December 20, 2024). "Two brothers charged with assaulting police officers after Manchester Airport brawl". The Daily Telegraph .
  30. ↑ Melley, Brian (December 20, 2024). "2 men charged in UK with assaulting police in Manchester Airport fracas. No officer will be charged". AP News .
  31. ↑ Scheerhout, John (July 5, 2025). "Airport police brawl followed headbutt in Starbucks, jury hears". Manchester Evening News .
  32. ↑ Pilling, Kim (July 10, 2025). "Police officer denies he 'lost control' in aftermath of alleged airport assault". Evening Standard .
  33. ↑ "Cop punched in face during Manchester airport brawl says she was 'absolutely terrified'". Hindustan Times . July 11, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Jury urged to 'not be distracted' by kick and stamp of police officer in Manchester Airport trial". ITV News . July 24, 2025.
  35. ↑ Kampfner, Constance (July 30, 2025). "Man convicted of attacking police in Manchester airport brawl". The Times .
  36. ↑ Wastell, Laurie (July 31, 2025). "Labour's shameful response to the Manchester Airport attack" . The Spectator .
  37. ↑ "Birmingham MP candidate accused of money laundering has trial set". BBC News . July 15, 2025.
  38. 1 2 Sixtsmith, Ben (August 1, 2025). "Public figures should stop prejudging the police". The Critic .
  39. ↑ "Andy Burnham says he debated release of airport brawl footage". BBC News . August 6, 2025.
  40. ↑ Fallon, Clare (August 4, 2025). "Police officer to face criminal investigation over airport CCTV". Channel 4 News .
  41. ↑ Lester, Sarah (August 5, 2025). "Don't criminalise the truth". Manchester Evening News .
  42. ↑ Aboudari, Sofia (July 25, 2024). "'Shocking' police attack in Manchester Airport sparks 'racism, Islamophobia' accusations". The New Arab .
  43. ↑ Suliman, Adela (July 26, 2024). "Video of police kicking man on ground at U.K. airport sparks protests". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286.
  44. ↑ France, Anthony (July 25, 2024). "Don't use video of officer kicking man for political purposes, says mayor". Evening Standard .
  45. ↑ Timms, Hugo (August 1, 2025). "The Manchester Airport brawl was not a 'George Floyd' moment". Spiked Magazine .
  46. ↑ "Reform threatens private prosecution over Manchester Airport disturbance". Jersey Evening Post . October 7, 2024.
  47. ↑ Tooth, Jack (October 7, 2024). "Reform UK plots prosecution for fight at Manchester Airport". Messenger Newspapers .
  48. 1 2 "Manchester Airport Violence: Officer suspended, social media enraged, former MET chief blames 'racism'". The Times of India . July 25, 2024. ISSN   0971-8257.
  49. ↑ "Old images of injured Leicestershire PC falsely shared in connection to Manchester Airport incident". Full Fact . July 26, 2024.
  50. ↑ McCreary, Joedy (July 29, 2024). "Image of injured UK police officer isn't new. It's from 2020". USA Today .
  51. ↑ Cobham, Tara (August 7, 2024). "Police officer 'hit grandmother in face with Taser' in Manchester Airport incident". The Independent .
  52. ↑ Teng, Alexandra (August 4, 2025). "Teacher sacked for 'Islamophobic' posts takes legal action". Christian Concern .
  53. ↑ Nicholson, Kate (October 7, 2025). "Nigel Farage Warns Against 'Circulating' Misinformation And The Irony Is Rich". The Huffington Post .
  54. ↑ "Fact Check: Man who broke police officer's nose at Manchester airport in prison since July". Reuters . September 18, 2025.
  55. ↑ Gillespie, Tom (July 25, 2024). "Hundreds of protesters gather outside Rochdale Police Station after video shows officer stamping on man's head". Sky News .
  56. ↑ Stephen, Rigley (July 26, 2024). "'It was an attempted assassination', says lawyer of men kicked by police officer at Manchester Airport". LBC News .
  57. ↑ Halliday, Josh (July 29, 2025). "Teenager's lawyer steps aside after Manchester airport 'assassination' remarks". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077.
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