British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has been accused of siding with the “vile thug” involved in the Manchester Airport attack, who has been found guilty of assault.
Cooper came under fire for her initial response to the incident last July when a female officer’s nose was broken during an attack by student Mohammed Fahir Amaaz.
Yesterday, the 20-year-old from Rochdale, near Manchester, was found guilty of assaulting Constables Lydia Ward and Ellie Cook.
But Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused Cooper of failing to back the officers in the immediate aftermath, despite knowing the extent of their injuries.
Two days after the attack, Cooper issued a statement addressing a video that appeared to show another officer, Constable Zachary Marsden, kicking and stamping on Amaaz during his arrest.
In last year’s statement, Cooper said: “I share the deep concern surrounding the video and understand the widespread distress it will have caused.
“I welcome the engagement by the Mayor of Greater Manchester with local communities. It is essential the police have the trust of the communities, and the public rightly expect high standards from those in charge of keeping us safe.”
After yesterday’s verdicts, Philp criticised her for failing to mention the welfare of the injured officers in her statement last year.
“When this first happened, Yvette Cooper seemed more interested in criticising the police and siding with the attacker than standing up for brave officers who get injured in the line of duty.
“A female officer had her nose broken by this vile thug, and the Home Secretary had nothing to say about that when it happened.
“Instead, her statement referred to the importance of the ‘trust of communities’ and questioned police standards. They need to get their priorities straight.
“It is shameful that Yvette Cooper’s statement did not include any mention of the police officers who were attacked at Manchester Airport last year, even though it has been reported that she was aware they had been injured when she made it.
“This is just another example of Labour’s two-tier approach to law and order. Yvette Cooper has questions to answer.”
Amaaz was convicted of punching Ward in the face, causing a broken nose, and assaulting Cook.
He was also found guilty of headbutting passenger Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil.
But the jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge that he and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, assaulted armed police officer PC Marsden.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said it will seek a retrial of both men on the outstanding charge.
The incident occurred on July 23 last year when the brothers went to the airport to collect their mother from an international flight.
Ismaeil, who had been on the same flight, said he was butted in the face by Amaaz during an altercation at Starbucks in Terminal 2.
When the three Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers approached Amaaz to arrest him in connection with the incident, he lashed out before his brother allegedly intervened.
Both defendants were accused of inflicting a “high level of violence” on the officers, but claimed they had acted in self-defence.
Amaaz was convicted of three charges after 10 hours of deliberations.
Mike Peake, chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, said after the verdicts: “Police officers in Manchester work in a difficult, dangerous and dynamic world where there is no such thing as a routine incident. They deserve support in that work from the public and politicians.
“The distressing scenes we have seen during this trial show some of the worst side of police work that our officers are faced with. Thirty-five officers are assaulted in Greater Manchester Police every week. We are bloodied and we are bruised.
“We have been supporting the officers concerned in the incident at Manchester Airport last summer since it occurred. And as a federation, we will continue to do so.”
Sir Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of GMP, said attacks on his officers could never be justified.
“While disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, I welcome the findings of the jury in respect of the convicted offender, whose appalling conduct has now been exposed to legitimate public scrutiny.
“I am grateful to the prosecution team and to those investigating officers from GMP who have worked hard to assist the court in enabling justice to be done in respect of those counts where a verdict was reached.
“GMP is actively supportive of a retrial in respect of the two counts where a verdict was not achieved. We remain fully committed to providing the prosecution team with every assistance needed to reach an outcome on these matters.
“Our officers first approached the man now convicted in order to make an arrest following the unprovoked assault on an innocent man in the presence of his wife and children. They were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public.
“Whilst assaults on police officers are sadly not uncommon – 44 of my officers are assaulted every week across GM – such attacks can never be justified. Our officers are decent people who routinely place themselves in harm’s way to protect the public. They deserve our respect and support.
“I am particularly grateful to those many members of the public who have contacted the force in order to pass on their best wishes to the officers affected.”
Amaaz was remanded into custody before a bail hearing on Thursday. No date has yet been set for the retrial.