Masked mobs present bare contempt for the legislation, writes NORMAN BRENNAN

Whatever happened at Manchester Airport on Wednesday, none of which is clear, the ease with which mobs increasingly take to the streets demanding ‘justice’ – with the implied threat of public disorder – is deeply concerning.

Yesterday, protesters marched through Manchester holding aloft placards threatening: ‘No justice, no peace’. Some wore Palestinian ‘keffiyehs’, others called for the police to be ‘defunded’, while many brandished Black Lives Matter signs.

Meanwhile, outside Rochdale Police Station, masked youths pelted its glass facade with eggs and blocked an entrance with a roadworks barrier and traffic cones.

The flames of public outrage have hardly been dampened by Akhmed Yakoob, the Lamborghini-driving lawyer and friend of George Galloway – seen as an ultra-Leftist firebrand – who is representing the family of the young man at the centre of the Manchester Airport incident, 19-year-old Fahir Khan. 

This morning, Yakoob made the preposterous claim that the incident was a ‘joint enterprise assassination of the young boys by the police officers’.

A masked protester throws eggs at the police headquarters building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, yesterday

A crowd of demonstrators gathers outside the police station after an officer appeared to kick a man in the head

Video footage shows a police officer appearing to kick a man on the floor at Manchester Airport on Wednesday. The officer has been suspended

The solicitor said yesterday that his client has a ‘cyst’ on the brain, though this could have existed before the incident.

Whatever the truth, in Britain it’s the job of the police and the courts to ensure justice is done. When crowds display naked contempt for the rule of law – however justified they believe their case to be – anarchy is the result.

Feelings are undoubtedly running high after a 43-second video of a police officer appearing to stamp on a man’s head was circulated on social media on Thursday.

The incident is shocking, and the alleged behaviour of the officer, who has since been suspended, appears to be excessive and wrong – assuming the suspect was already fully compliant and posed no further threat.

Fahir Khan was prone but not restrained. We don’t know what his behaviour had been previously, or whether he was likely to get up and potentially commit a serious offence. Amid the chaos, it’s impossible to get a clear picture.

So, although the footage looks terrible, it is important to reserve our full condemnation until all the facts are revealed.

Selected footage like this, uploaded in isolation to social media, can be deeply misleading, incendiary and dangerous.

Crowds of protesters with placards gather in the streets of Manchester yesterday after the video footage emerged

Lawyer Akhmed Yakoob posing next to a gleaming Lamborghini as he wears shades and a sharp suit

Bodycam footage and witness statements covering the whole incident could offer a very different version of events from the video.

We must also remember that, with three of his colleagues already injured – one of them a female officer whose nose had been broken – the officer was in a volatile situation.

Police are human beings and, however good their training, will sometimes act on instinct. They are of course held accountable for their actions. The suspended officer will now face an independent investigation, which will rule on whether his use of force was proportionate.

In the course of my 31 years in the police, I have made many arrests that might have looked unnervingly aggressive, if seen out of context. I have detained people brandishing knives and come within a hair’s breadth of being killed on two occasions – including once being stabbed in the chest by a burglar.

Believe me, in those situations, you’re not worrying about how your actions look to bystanders. You’re too intent on protecting those bystanders, colleagues and yourself, from harm.

What most people reacting to the video haven’t understood is that in this era of terrorist attacks, police at Britain’s airports are forced into split-second decisions where not only their own lives may be at risk but, potentially, the lives of hundreds of staff and members of the public.

All armed officers have two paramount objectives: control and containment. That means a tougher, more proactive style of policing than that of a normal bobby on the beat – and one that can look very heavy-handed to outsiders.

They must prevent any disorder before it starts. By shouting and swearing, an officer uses intimidation to impose compliance and control. Yes, it can be ugly – but it’s effective and often necessary.

And if violence does erupt, they are trained to quell it as rapidly as possible, using their knees and boots on a suspect if required – especially given that the officer’s hands are often holding a weapon.

Indeed, a weapon can be a dangerous disadvantage in these situations. Firearms officers are aware that, if a violent suspect wrestles a weapon away from them, the result could be carnage.

So, whatever provoked the initial incident at Manchester Airport, the police had to be prepared for the very worst.

Only a decade or two ago, I would not have had to explain this. Most British people respected the police and supported in their role keeping our streets safe.

But after a string of high-profile cases – not least that of murderer PC Wayne Couzens – public trust in the force has plummeted. Armed with smartphones, members of the public prefer to video their interactions with an officer rather than submit to his or her orders, resulting in conflicts that can quickly escalate.

The demonstrations held yesterday are entirely symptomatic of this. But before people rush to the streets in angry indignation, let them remember that three officers were injured in this incident, suggesting an altercation more complicated than that shown in a 43-second film.

Norman Brennan is the founder of the police campaign group Protect The Protectors.