The decision to charge two brothers six months after the Manchester Airport brawl is ‘long overdue’, says Nigel Farage – as the suspects’ family say they ‘feel betrayed’ as cops are exonerated

Nigel Farage has called the decision to charge two brothers six months after a fight at Manchester Airport ‘long overdue’ – with both brothers’ family criticizing the decision not to press charges against one of the officers involved in the incident.

Protests erupted in July after videos of the incident shared online showed a police officer kicking Mohammed Amaaz, 20, during an attempt to arrest him and his brother Muhammed Amaad, 25 years.

But dramatic CCTV footage later emerged showing all three officers had been attacked, leaving one WPC with a broken nose and another officer sprawled on the ground.

Last month, with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reportedly no closer to announcing charges against the brothers, Nigel Farage hired two lawyers to bring action against them.

He compared prosecutors’ slow progress in charging the two men with the lightning-fast pursuit of far-right figures “who said nasty things on social media,” and suggested it was proof of a “two-tier” justice system.

The CPS said both men were charged with assaulting police officers on July 23 and neither officer will face charges.

Mohammed Amaaz is charged with two offenses of causing actual bodily harm, one charge of assaulting an emergency worker and one charge of common assault, while Muhammed Amaad, 25, is charged with causing bodily harm real bodily.

Mr Farage and his deputy Richard Tice said today the charges were “long overdue”.

It is clear that the CPS only charged the attackers today due to pressure from UK Reform MPs,” they said.

They added that they expected a parallel investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to “exonerate” the officers, adding: “Nothing less will be acceptable.”

But Aamer Anwar, representing the brothers, said: “The family feels betrayed by both the IOPC and the CPS, but neither organization has any experience of bringing justice when allegations of police brutality are brought forward. involved.

“To be clear, no one should be above the law and the question posed at the very beginning was what possible justification could be given to the use of excessive, disproportionate and potentially lethal force against any civilian who was incapacitated by a Taser and did not represent no threat.”

“At this stage, it remains that a decision has yet to be made whether GMP officers should be subject to disciplinary proceedings, following a series of complaints made by six members of the public, including our clients, in relation to the incident.”

The altercation, in Terminal 2 of the airport, reportedly took place after an earlier confrontation between passengers on a Qatar Airways flight.

Both defendants will appear before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on January 16, 2025.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Stephen Watson said he was pleased with the CPS’s decision.

“I welcome today’s decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service to charge two men with assaults on our officers and a member of the public at Manchester Airport earlier this year,” he said.

“I also welcome their decision not to take any further criminal action against the serving officers.

“I appreciate that a full and thorough independent investigation led to this result. Following this decision, I lifted the suspension of the officer involved.

Mr Watson said the force would continue to “co-operate” with the IOPC’s malpractice investigation into the incident.

“While cooperating fully with the IOPC in its independent investigation into the conduct of our officers, GMP has offered its support to our officers and will continue to do so in the coming months,” he said.

“I know these questions have naturally generated a lot of debate, scrutiny and speculation.

“We now have specific charging decisions and legal proceedings must be able to progress without the prejudice or taint that can result from inappropriate comments, speculation or the sharing of digital content.”

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “Following our review of an incident at Manchester Airport in July 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service has today brought today charges against two people.

“This is a high-profile incident which generated considerable public interest and media coverage at the time, and we have worked closely from the outset with investigators from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and from Greater Manchester Police.

“We have reviewed all available evidence, including witness statements, video footage, expert reports and other material related to police use of force, in order to make an independent and objective assessment of the opportunity to present charges in court.

“Based on a careful review of this evidence, we have concluded that two men should be charged with offenses including assaulting police officers.”

A spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said: “We are aware of the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to take no further action against the officers involved in a series of arrests at Manchester Airport on July 23.

“Our independent investigation into the use of force by police against six people during the incident continues and is almost complete.

“Throughout the investigation, during which two police officers were questioned under criminal caution in relation to alleged assaults which occurred during the incident on July 23, we shared relevant evidence with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS ), as soon as they become available, to help make a rapid investigation into this matter.

“On Monday we shared the latest piece of evidence of this type with the CPS to consider possible charges.

“We will now endeavor to conclude the few remaining lines of inquiry as quickly as possible.

“At this stage we will decide whether anyone working at GMP should be subject to disciplinary proceedings, and we will make a decision on a series of complaints made by six members of the public in relation to the incident.

“It was important that the events at Manchester Airport on July 23 were thoroughly investigated.

“The IOPC and GMP investigations are separate and have different remits, but between them they ensure an appropriate level of scrutiny of these matters.”