Family 'traumatised' as man 'fights for life' after being kicked by police at Manchester Airport

The family at the centre of the Manchester Airport controversy are “traumatised” as a man fights for his life in hospital.

Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale met the family after video footage appeared to show a man being kicked on the floor by a police officer in terminal two.

Waugh told BBC Breakfast: “It’s clear from talking to them that they are traumatised. Lots of people saw that video clip and they are distressed by it.

“The police themselves said it was a distressing clip but just imagine if that was your brother or your son in that clip; you can imagine how distraught they are.

“The two priorities of the family is first, the health and the wellbeing of their family – healing and getting better.

“The second priority, is justice and the need for justice not just to be done but seen to be done.”

On Thursday, solicitor and would-be politician Akhmed Yakoob told reporters that the family who claim police assaulted them at Manchester Airport approached him for help.

Dubbed the “TikTok lawyer”, Mr Yakoob won a significant vote share at this year’s West Midlands mayoral election as he finished in third position on a pro-Gaza ticket.

The Birmingham-based lawyer said he took a call for assistance from the family at the centre of the incident.

Footage filmed at the airport’s terminal two on Tuesday appeared to show an officer kick and stamp on the head of a man who was lying face down on the floor, with a woman kneeling beside him.

The video also appeared to show the officer strike a second man.

On Thursday, Mr Yakoob spoke on behalf of the family to media gathered at Rochdale police station – the scene of a protest the night before.

He said Mohammed Fahir, 19, was “fighting for his life” from head injuries he received and that Mr Fahir’s brother and 56-year old mother were also assaulted at the airport.

The two men had arrived to pick up their mother who had flown in from Pakistan, he said.

Their elder brother, a serving officer with Greater Manchester Police, he added, was “too afraid” to go into work.

Mr Yakoob refused to be drawn on what may have been the spark to the fracas.

Asked why the police had approached the family, he said: “That’s not relevant. The relevant issue right now is the health and the wellbeing of the family.

“One thing I can say loud and clear is that nothing justifies the barbaric treatment from the police officers.

“Because as you can see from the videos that everybody has seen there was no threat whatsoever to the police or the public.

“People are forgetting that the mother was assaulted as well. She got punched and kicked in the face.”

Mr Yakoob said he had a “long history” with the police himself but added: “We are with policing but we are against people taking advantage of their powers.”

He said he hoped that “honest” police officers would come forward to assist the ongoing IOPC investigation.