Men featured in brutal Manchester Airport police video break silence | UK | News

Reform MPs in the UK have come out strongly in defence of Manchester police after an incident at the airport yesterday sparked protests.

Footage posted online yesterday shows a police officer kicking a man who was pinned to the ground before stepping on his head.

Police said the incident happened after “three officers were victims of a violent assault” in which one of them had his nose broken.

However, the treatment of the suspect lying on the ground has sparked fury, with many Labour MPs demanding an urgent investigation.

Richard Tice of Reform UK threw his support behind the police amid the furore, saying the footage was in fact “reassuring” rather than “distressing”.

He told TalkTV: “I’ve just seen this footage, but from what I’ve heard and seen it’s not scary, it’s reassuring!”

“The simple answer is that if the police had to use tasers, which at least two officers, if not three, clearly had, then there is a serious problem.

“Police officers do not use Tasers unless they are genuinely concerned about the safety of citizens and their own safety, and keeping in mind that they are armed officers, who are there to prevent acts of terrorism, and they have to make split-second decisions.

“They are right to think that safety is the best option. They don’t know if these people have grenades under their bodies!”

He was supported by fellow Reformist Lee Anderson, who added: “The vast majority of decent British people would applaud this kind of policing. We’ve had enough of this cheesy approach.”

“It’s time to support our boys in blue.”

Labour MPs, however, have hit out at the officer in the video, with Rochdale MP Paul Waugh describing his actions as “truly shocking and disturbing”.

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