Listen To Story Above
Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party have taken an unprecedented step by launching a private prosecution against two individuals allegedly involved in a physical altercation with police officers at Manchester Airport back in July. This move comes after four months of apparent inaction from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Reform UK has hired a top-tier private prosecutor to pursue a case against two men, reportedly of Asian descent, over the Manchester Airport incident. During the altercation, four officers were attacked, with one female officer reportedly suffering a broken nose.
The appalling attack on police officers at Manchester Airport has been completely ignored by the CPS.
That’s why Reform MPs are commencing a private prosecution.
We do not want to live in a two-tier country. pic.twitter.com/BzD74M4dV1
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) November 18, 2024
In an article for The Telegraph, Farage and Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice expressed their stance: “We at Reform UK will not stand for two-tier justice and two-tier policing. We have instructed TM Eye Ltd, one of Britain’s leading private prosecutors with more than 1,000 successful prosecutions under its belt, to do this private prosecution. It has today written to the Greater Manchester Police and CPS confirming this and setting the ball in motion. We have secured the funding to carry this all the way to conclusion. We are also making it clear to the CPS that we will not tolerate it hijacking our prosecution, then dropping it for political reasons later on.”
Initially, Manchester Police faced accusations of a racist attack after partial footage appeared to show an officer kicking one of the men in the head area. However, full CCTV video of the incident seemed to reveal that the men had initiated the fight with the officers.
Farage and Tice allege that the CPS’s failure to launch a prosecution after four months, despite “compelling CCTV evidence” of the attack, demonstrates a “two-tier” justice system in Britain. Farage contrasted this lack of prosecution with the swift action taken against those involved in the riots and protests following the Southport stabbing attack over the summer, which claimed the lives of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance party.
“The Southport riots led to immediate arrests and in some cases imprisonment not just for those that threw bricks but for those who said things online. Yet the appalling attack on police officers at Manchester Airport has been completely ignored,” Mr Farage said in a video address.
“We think as Reform UK this is as clear an illustration of two-tier policing, two-tier justice in two-tier Britain as you could possibly see,” he added.
Nigel Farage on the Southport case:
“We are witnessing one of the biggest coverups we’ve ever seen in our lives”
“I know a hell of a lot more than the British public know. I’ve been completely silenced.”
What is going on with this case?
The public deserves to know the truth. pic.twitter.com/9kRWT7O98v
— J Stewart (@triffic_stuff_) November 16, 2024
Under UK law, any adult can launch a private prosecution, but they are responsible for paying for legal representation and, in some instances, the legal costs of the defendant.
Following Reform’s announcement of a private prosecution, the Crown Prosecution Service told the Manchester Evening News that it was still “considering material” over the case. “We are working with Greater Manchester Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct while their inquiries continue,” the CPS said.
