The police watchdog provoked outrage last night after launching a ‘leak inquiry’ into the release of CCTV footage that showed a vicious attack against officers at Manchester Airport.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating whether any police officers were responsible for passing the shocking footage to the media.
The dramatic video showed the moment three police officers, including two women, were violently assaulted by two brothers after they attempted to arrest one of them at the airport in July.
It shed crucial new light on the incident after earlier mobile phone footage, which showed the male police officer kicking one of the brothers in the head, sparked protests and allegations of police brutality and racism.
One senior police source said the footage was widely circulated among officers before it became public and branded the IOPC’s determination to hunt down whoever passed it to the press as ‘Orwellian’.
Videos emerged showing clashes breaking out between members of the public and Greater Manchester Police officers at Manchester Airport on July 23
Protests were held outside Greater Manchester Police divisional headquarters in Rochdale on July 24 in response to the first footage of the incident emerging
Solicitor Aamer Anwar is seen holding up a picture of Shameem Akhtar, 56, alongside her son Fahir Amaaz, 19, at a news conference
‘They are straying outside their remit going after the source. You have got two police women being attacked and it’s taking weeks and months for them to do an investigation into the incident.
‘It could have come out from many a cop. That footage has been circulated. How do you think officers at Greater Manchester Police are going to be feeling about that? They will be outraged.’
Reform MP Richard Tice said the IOPC decision to pursue the source of the footage was ‘madness’.
‘The police should have released that footage within two hours of the incident and it would have prevented the whole crisis in confidence in the police officers.
‘Frankly the IOPC and GMP need to take a good long, hard look at themselves and if they don’t understand this they should resign or be fired. I can not be more cataclysmically angry about that.’
Mobile phone footage, taken on July 23, showed a male police officer kicking Fahir Muhammed Amas, 19, in the head and sparked outrage when it went viral on social media.
Amid appeals for calm, and concerns that protests would escalate, CCTV footage then emerged online which showed the violence that took place before that incident.
The video showed how Fahir punched a female officer in the face, breaking her nose, before knocking down a second woman officer.
It also showed his brother Amaad, 25, throwing a barrage of ‘full-bloodied’ punches at an armed male officer, leaving him stunned and slumped on the floor. Fahir also punched the male officer and grabbed him by the neck in a ‘chokehold’, which he released only when one of the female officers tasered him.
Footage of a police officer kicking Fahir Amaaz, 19, while he was arrested alongside his brother Muhammad Amaad
A second video was posted online, showing moments before the police ‘stamping’ incident
A Stand Up To Racism demonstration in Manchester took place on July 25
Last month, both brothers from Rochdale appeared alongside their solicitor Aamer Anwar at a press conference in Manchester city centre to ‘set the record straight’ after what they called ‘a deliberate attempt to smear the family’.
Mr Anwar told reporters of the family’s unhappiness at the release of the new footage and queried how it had come into the public domain.
And, despite the apparent public interest in the release of the footage, the IOPC is now probing whether or not someone working for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) sent the video to the Manchester Evening News (MEN).
An IOPC spokesperson said: ‘Following a press conference on 6 August 2024, when concerns were raised about the source of a video provided to the media, we received a conduct referral from Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
‘This referral, whilst considering other possibilities, relates to whether someone employed by the force may have shared footage relating to an active police investigation without a legitimate policing purpose.
‘We are in the early stages of an independent investigation, which will consider whether there is any evidence to suggest this was provided by someone working for GMP and, if so, the justification for this.’
On August 23 and September 3, the MEN received letters from the IOPC seeking access to the CCTV footage and asked questions which the newspaper paper said were designed to identify its source.
The newspaper said: ‘We denied these requests because it is journalistic material and the provision of material – like the CCTV footage – to the free press is a cornerstone of our democracy.’
Shameem Akhtar, 56, appeared tearful as she faced the media
Mrs Akhtar said she was racially abused on her flight to Manchester from Pakistan
In another letter on September 4, the IOPC disclosed: ‘We are conducting a criminal investigation into the provision of CCTV footage to Manchester Evening News (MEN), specifically CCTV footage from Manchester Airport relating to an incident which occurred there on 23 July 2024.’
The IOPC asked the newspaper confirm if it held the original video and whether it would be prepared to supply it for inspection.
The investigator also asked the newspaper to list ‘all additional material’ that it holds in relation to the case.
The MEN declined to enter into any discussions about the source. Its editor Sarah Lester said: ‘The protection of sources of information is a key journalistic principle.’
The IOPC is also investigating the officers involved in the violent incident.
One officer has been put under criminal investigation and suspended from their job, while another has been told they were under investigation over another incident.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of assault, assault of an emergency worker, affray and obstructing police. Two other men were arrested on suspicion of affray and assault of an emergency worker.
GMP has passed a dossier of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over the incident.