Opinions on Manchester Airport assault verdict and its implications for policing

The other brother has already been found guilty of assaulting the 2 female officers and the member of the public. He’s been held on remand for months and is due to be sentenced soon.

Exactly. The judge could hardly find them guilty after the second jury failed to reach a verdict.

To be fair, the male police officer was physically attacked, including having one of the brothers' arms around his neck just moments previously:

The junior counsel Adam Birkby suggested that Amaaz threw 10 punches, which included one to the face of PC Ward that knocked her to the floor, and that Amaad aimed six punches at the firearms officer PC Marsden.
Amaaz is also said to have kicked PC Marsden and twice struck firearms officer PC Cook with his elbow.
He is said to have punched PC Marsden from behind and then had hold of him before PC Cook discharged her Taser device.
Amaaz had his arm around PC Marsden’s neck as both fell to the floor, Birkby said, before the officer got to his feet.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/07/jurors-shown-cctv-footage-of-brothers-alleged-assault-of-police-officers-at-manchester-airport

In fear of his life from a guy laid prone on the floor with a taser pointed at him? Give over.

Makes me wonder if the judge directed the jury to aquit the two men. I think most ordinary people would think these two guys needed the book throwing at them. They were violent and totally out of control.

Our police need backing up as well. That policeman was in fear of his life.

Ffs we all saw the videos. 1 of the brothers assaulted another man and that’s why the police went to arrest him.

Double post.

Exactly. He also went on to say that they’d never been in trouble before and came from a law-abiding family.

Still, for some reason, at least one of them thought it would be a good idea to confront and physically attack the other passenger who had allegedly been racist to their mum, and then completely flip out when approached by police.

And, he would say that wouldn’t he?

Online, after the incident. Not by the police.
At least that’s what he said in the link you’ve posted.

Their solicitor said they've been subjected to appalling racist abuse.

If they put a foot wrong in the future ..... Their faces are all over SM.

The two brothers were at the airport to meet their mother off a flight

She told them she had been racially abused - not sure if this was on the flight or in the airport when she disembarked

One brother went into a coffee shop and assaulted the person his mother accused of racially abusing her. He is charged with the assault on the person in Starbucks and also of assaulting the two female police officers and will be charged in June

96 percent guilty vote. Trial by Mumsnet Poll. Perhaps David Lammy should take note.

To be clear...

These men were found GUILTY of three of the four assaults.

The brother shown punching officers has been found guilty of 2x assaulting a police officer and 1x assaulting a member of the public.

That same jury (NOT a judge or the Home Secretary) could not reach a verdict on a fourth charge of ABH against another officer.

A second jury (ordinary people remember) reviewed the evidence and came to the same conclusion.

We haven't seen everything the juries were presented with in court, only bits from social media etc. ABH requires it NOT to be in self defence and there's footage of the officer in question stamping on one of them on the floor which I expect complicates it.

Sentencing for the guilty verdicts is next month.

Also the men had already been found guilty at an earlier trial for their actions against the two female police officers.

No, that's not what it means. After two trials where two different juries haven't been able to reach verdicts it's not in the public interest to have a third trial. This will be for reasons of cost and because there no certainty a third trial won't also result in no verdict being reached. There was no jury verdict either way so no one can say they were guilty or not guilty.

We haven't seen all the evidence. And if two juries couldn't decide based on all the evidence that suggests it was very difficult to be sure the evidential threshold was met.

How do you know the police were being racist? Is there any evidence that they’d made some racist remarks before the attack?

This! Scumbags.

@AndyBurnhamForPM you and I will have to agree to disagree on that then. That level of violence is as obscene.

Racism is violence.

Beating a racist is always an act of self defence.

I don’t think it’s even clear whether their violence was in response to racism.
In the statement pp linked upthread their solicitor is talking about racist abuse they’ve received after the incident at the airport.

Racism is unacceptable. The level of violence they responded with if the racism claims are true was completely disproportionate and disgusting.

I believe their lawyer Aamer Anwar is Nicola Sturgeon's as well. He does like a high profile case.