Nigel Farage threatens 'criminal prosecution' in two-tier policing row
Reform UK Party leader Nigel Farage appeared alongside Richard Tice to discuss the party's stance on an incident at Manchester Airport earlier this year.
Watch live: Reform UK law and order press conference
Nigel Farage and his fellow Reform MPs have threatened to launch a private criminal prosecution of people involved in an incident with police at Manchester Airport in July.
An armed officer was removed from frontline policing after footage allegedly showed him kicking a man in the face during an arrest inside a terminal in July.
A senior Greater Manchester police officer described the incident as “truly shocking” and said people were “rightly extremely concerned” by it.
Subsquent leaked footage allegedly showed the moment three police officers were assaulted by two brothers, including the man who was allegedly kicked in the head, after they attempted to arrest one of them at the airport earlier this year.
In a post on X, Reform UK said its MPs "have written to the Home Secretary about two-tier justice in Britain.
"If the CPS do not charge the Manchester Airport assailants, we will organise a private criminal prosecution against them. Police officers cannot work in fear of being thrown under the bus," the post added.
An investigation by Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is ongoing. The IOPC, the Home Office and the CPS have been approached for comment.
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\ud83d\udea8NEW: Reform MPs have written to the Home Secretary about two tier justice in Britain.
\u2014 Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) October 7, 2024
If the CPS do not charge the Manchester Airport assailants, we will organise a private criminal prosecution against them.
Police officers cannot work in fear of being thrown under the bus. pic.twitter.com/D3VCcxfCOL
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Reform threatens private criminal prosecution over Manchester Airport row
In a post on X during the press conference, Reform UK said its MPs "have written to the Home Secretary about two-tier justice in Britain".
"If the CPS do not charge the Manchester Airport assailants, we will organise a private criminal prosecution against them.
"Police officers cannot work in fear of being thrown under the bus," the post added."
The party claims in the letter that because the footage came out in two parts, with a second clip subsequently "leaked", "a false impression was allowed to permeate that the officers had attacked first when in reality they were desperately fighting to protect themselves".
The Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service have been approached for comment.
\ud83d\udea8NEW: Reform MPs have written to the Home Secretary about two tier justice in Britain.
\u2014 Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) October 7, 2024
If the CPS do not charge the Manchester Airport assailants, we will organise a private criminal prosecution against them.
Police officers cannot work in fear of being thrown under the bus. pic.twitter.com/D3VCcxfCOL
Nigel Farage takes to the stage
Nigel Farage has taken to the stage in Westminister.
He told attendees there is a growing perception in the country that we're seeing "two-tier" policing.
He said an incident at Manchester Airport in July, is being "buried and forgotten about", before showing footage of the first part of altercation which emerged in footage leaked to the media.
The first footage of the incident, captured on video on July 23 in Terminal 2, allegedly showed a man being kicked and stamped on by an officer.
The footage, which went viral, involved passengers from Qatar Airways flight QR23 and resulted in the suspension of a Greater Manchester Police officer.
The second part of the footage shows the two brothers allegedly throwing punches at the officers before being restrained.
Richard Tice then began his remarks, and said misinformation surrounded the incident, and claimed the police response was proportionate.
