Michelle Dewberry hits out at ‘racism’ claims as protests erupt over Manchester Airport kicking incident: ‘Please tell me how’

GB News star Michelle Dewberry has blasted cries of “racism” after shocking footage emerged from an incident at Manchester Airport.

Footage surfaced yesterday on social media appearing to show a man being kicked as he lay face down on the floor.

A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer was suspended on Thursday and protests have erupted in Rochdale against “police brutality”.

Speaking on GB News, Michelle said people have lambasted the police force with claims of racism after the shocking incident.

“I do find it a little bit concerning. You have a protest taking place by a group called Manchester Stand Up to Racism.

“They are saying they have this protest against racist police. I am just asking, what evidence have you got that this was motivated by racism?

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“There’s groups asking if it was Manchester Police carrying out a George Floyd-type killing? I mean, come on now.

“I just find these protests outside of police stations where you have community mobs dictating, I have a bit of an issue with that. It was the same that we see in Harehills. We saw people setting fire to buses.

“I get a little bit worried we’re teetering on the edge of mob rule in this country. I have asked many people that if you are going around stating ‘this is racism’, please tell me the evidence you have got.”

The footage captured the moment at Manchester Airport’s terminal two on Tuesday and appeared to show an officer kick and stamp on the head of a man who was lying face down on the floor.

The video also appears to capture the officer striking a second man.

Police said three of their officers had been assaulted, including a female Police Constable who suffered a broken nose, and four men were arrested.

Manchester Mayor Andy Turnham said full footage of the incident showed a “fast-moving and complicated” situation with “issues for both sides”.

He added it was “right” that the officer had been suspended.

He added: “I would ask for calm because what I can assure people is that the right and proper steps have been taken in the right way.”

He urged people not to use the situation for “political purposes”.

Speaking to media outside Rochdale police station on Thursday, solicitor Akhmed Yakoob said two of the men involved were members of a serving GMP officer’s family.

He said: “The family are okay but they are traumatised.”

He said the condition of one of the men had worsened and said a CT scan revealed a “cyst on his brain”.

He added: “The main concern for us, for me, is that the family receive justice and this no longer happens again.”

The regional director of police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Catherine Bates, promised a “thorough and robust” independent investigation into the incident and said body-worn video and CCTV footage had been secured.