‘TikTok lawyer’ representing family of Manchester Airport incident issues statement in light of new ‘kick’ footage from Greater Manchester Police

The lawyer representing the family involved in the incident at Manchester Airport earlier this week says “nothing can justify” a police officer kicking a “defenceless man” in the head, after new footage emerged showing the moments before the incident.

Akhmed Yakoob has responded to the exclusive footage released by the Manchester Evening News on Saturday (July 28) which appears to show the violent scenes that led to a GMP officer being investigated for assault. It comes after a video of an armed officer kicking and stomping a man on the head as he lay on the ground was widely shared on social media this week.

A viral clip of the incident, which unfolded in a car park at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 on Tuesday (July 23), sparked outrage and sparked protests. But new CCTV footage has now emerged that appears to show the moments before the incident.

READ MORE: Andy Burnham says there are ‘two sides’ to Manchester Airport GMP incident as new footage emerges

The footage shows chaotic scenes involving two men and multiple police officers, with a female officer being knocked to the ground. A male officer appears to aim a taser at a man before appearing to kick and stomp him on the head as he lies on the ground.

Mr Yakoob, who has been posting updates on the case to his hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, has now responded to the new footage. The criminal lawyer posted a new video on TikTok, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday (28 July).

In the video he says: “Having watched the CCTV footage from Manchester Airport I would say that nothing can justify a kick to the head of a defenceless man and a stamp on the head. That is my opinion.

“These officers are very well trained. They should not lose control or see red. What do you think?”

Mr Yakoob, who finished third in the race to become West Midlands mayor in May before standing as an independent candidate for Birmingham MP, held a press conference about the incident last week. He told media that a CT scan had found a “cyst on the brain” of the man who appeared to have been kicked and punched in the original video and later named him as Muhammed Fahir Ammaz.

The 36-year-old lawyer is being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) over allegations he used social media to promote a false claim of racism by a young teacher during the May election. The SRA says the investigation is ongoing.

On Friday evening, the Independent Office for Police Conduct reported that a police officer is being investigated for assault. The IOPC stressed that this does not necessarily mean that criminal charges will follow.

Responding to the new footage from last night (July 28), Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said that four people had been arrested and now released on police bail following incidents leading up to the footage being shared widely on social media last week.