New CCTV footage of arrests at Manchester Airport showed the men acted “disgracefully” towards police, an independent adviser on political violence has claimed.
Lord Walney also claimed officers used “excessive” force after a separate video showed a man being kicked and stamped on.
A Greater Manchester Police constable was advised he is under criminal investigation for assault over the altercation, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said on Friday.
However, Lord Walney suggested body-worn footage should be released immediately to aid “transparency”.
Man kicked during Manchester Airport incident ‘acted disgracefully’, new CCTV footage showsTWITTER“The context is helpful in countering the motive that this was an unprovoked attack on a man minding his own business, but it still looks to me hard to justify that level of repeated force to someone who was already lying on the ground,” he told The Times.
“I recognise that judgments are taken by professionals in the moment and that’s why we have an in-depth professional process involving experts in the field who will look at this.”
Walney continued: “It hopefully does give the lie to the idea being spread by some that this was part of a racist vendetta by the police towards the particular part of our community.”
He added: “It shows the conduct of the man, who ended up being the victim, it looks like it was highly excessive and he was himself behaving disgracefully and criminally towards the officers.”
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The incident took place at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2GETTYGreater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has also urged people to “take a step back” after the new footage was released on Saturday.
He added: “It’s a complicated situation — a very violent situation, actually — and there were issues on both sides.
“That’s why I asked other people not to rush to judgment because of the complexity of it and, simply, everyone who’s having their say, nobody has got all of the facts. Nobody is in possession of the complete picture.”
The initial incident, which took place at Terminal 2 on Tuesday, provoked widespread outrage and protests in Rochdale.
Akhmed Yakoob, who is representing Fahir, made the claim while addressing reporters after Fahir’s condition reportedly worsened overnightPAHowever, several police officers were also rushed to hospital, with a female constable sustaining a broken nose.
The latest video shows a man throwing a barrage of at least six punches at an officer and the first man punching a female police officer in the face.
The footage also resulted in the brothers’ lawyer Akhmed Yakoob quitting.
He said: “After consulting with the family I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer”.
Yakoob, who stood as a pro-Palestine independent in Birmingham Ladywood on July 4, concluded: “These officers are highly trained. They shouldn’t be losing control or seeing red.”