A second Greater Manchester Police officer is under criminal investigation for assault relating to an incident at Manchester Airport last month, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said.
It comes after a video emerged of a man appearing to be kicked and punched by a police officer at the airport on July 23.
Nine days later, the IOPC said an officer was under criminal investigation following the incident.
The IOPC said they had since received a further referral from Greater Manchester Police on August 6 of a complaint “detailing several allegations, from one of the people involved”.
The said this had resulted in a criminal investigation into a second officer.
The second police officer is also being investigated for potential gross misconduct for alleged breaches of police professional standards including their use of force, the IOPC added.
The IOPC said part of the investigation will look into the force used against three members of the public – two men and a woman – who were part of the initial incident, during which the two men were arrested
It will also look into the force used during an incident shortly after, during which two men were arrested and one of the individuals was pepper sprayed.
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Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested at Gatwick airport after using suitcases with lock-on devices to try and block a departure gate.
Seven activists entered the airport’s southern terminal at around 8am, the protest group said, as an image showed the protesters sitting on the floor and blocking an entrance.
A London Gatwick spokesperson said at around 9.15am that the airport “is open and operating normally today”, adding: “There are a small number of protestors at the airport who have now been arrested and are being removed from the airport.”
Video posted by Just Stop Oil also shows travellers walking over the activists, whose hands were seen inside the lock-on devices.
“As long as political leaders fail to take swift and decisive action to protect our communities from the worst effects of climate breakdown, Just Stop Oil supporters, working with other groups internationally, will take the proportionate action necessary to generate much needed political pressure,” the group said in a statement.
“This summer, areas of key importance to the fossil fuel economy will be declared sites of civil resistance around the world.”
The group added the protest at Gatwick comes as part of the international campaign Oil Kills, and said 21 groups across 12 countries have demonstrated at 17 airports so far.
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Just Stop Oil said the international campaign follows reports that the world saw its hottest days on record two days in a row last week.
It comes after two Just Stop Oil activists were found guilty of criminal damage last week after throwing soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.
Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, both aged 22, threw a can of Heinz tomato soup over the masterpiece at the National Gallery in London in October 2022.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the police officer filmed kicking and stamping on a man at Manchester Airport.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said it was investigating the officer caught on camera earlier this week.
A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer was suspended on Thursday after the footage was shared widely on social media.
It showed an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man who was lying face down on the floor, with a woman kneeling beside him.
The officer was later filmed pepper-spraying another manbefore wrestling him to the ground.
Police said three of their officers had been assaulted, including a female constable who suffered a broken nose, and four men were arrested.
Mr Burnham has previously urged people to remain calm in their response to the footage.
The mayor told the BBC that the full footage of the incident showed a “fast-moving and complicated” situation that was not “clear cut”.
He added: “There are issues for both sides, but that said, it is right the officer has been suspended.”
Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said while there was “clearly deep concern”, he warned against the issue being hijacked by extremists.
He pointed out that the family of the man who was kicked have also appealed for calm following protests that saw demonstrators blocking tram lines and roads in Manchester, adding that “they have no political agenda”.
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A police officer armed with a Taser kicked and stamped on a man’s head as he was lying face down on the ground at Manchester Airport.
A second man was also struck by the officer.
The incident was filmed and has been widely circulated on social media.
Following the incident, Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said one officer “has been removed from operational duties”.
But, it is understood the officer has not been suspended.
ACC Chaudhry said: “We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about.
“The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.”
GMP said officers had been responding to reports of an assault at Terminal 2 at 8.25pm on Tuesday.
“The alleged suspect was seen on CCTV at a ticket machine in the car park and officers attended the location to arrest him,” ACC Chaudhry said.
During the response, police said three officers were assaulted. One female officer suffered a broken nose, while the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries that required hospital treatment.
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Earlier, GMP said “as the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them”. They said they “acknowledged the concerns of the conduct within the video”.
Four men have been arrested over the incident. Two on suspicion of assault, assault of an emergency worker, affray, and obstructing police and another two on suspicion of affray and assault of an emergency worker.
One man ‘pinned against the wall’
Eyewitness Amar told Sky News he had heard shouting as he was turning the corner in the area. He heard: “You’re under arrest, you’re wanted.”
He said he then saw one man being “pinned against the wall”, before “pushing and shoving.”
Amar said he believes it was then that the man’s brother came “running over” – before being pushed to the floor and “kicked” by police.
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Manchester Airport said: “We are aware of an incident involving Greater Manchester Police officers that took place yesterday and, as a result, the force is investigating the matter.
“We will support the investigation in any way possible.”
Police said they are making “a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct”.
Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “I am aware of disturbing footage from an incident at Manchester Airport… and understand the public concern it has prompted. I have asked for a full update from Greater Manchester Police.”
Music star Nicki Minaj has been arrested at an airport in the Netherlands hours before she was due to perform in front of thousands of fans at Co-op Live in Manchester.
The American rapper, 41, was detained at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of soft drugs.
She was later released from custody just before 9pm but she will have to pay an undisclosed fine for “illegally exporting soft drugs from the Netherlands to another country”, Dutch police told Sky News.
In a series of social media posts on X and Instagram, Minaj earlier claimed police said they found drugs in her luggage after items were checked by customs.
She wrote on X that “they said they found weed”. She also claimed “they took my luggage without consent” and “they’re trying to keep me from MANCHESTER”.
The messages also included one where she wrote: “This is Amsterdam btw, where weed is legal.”
The star, whose hit songs include Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, also filmed what appeared to be an airport official asking her to have her luggage checked.
Minaj later wrote: “It’s a 45 minute to an hour flight. So they’re probably trying to stall for about 4 hours.”
And she added: “Now they said I have to go 5 mins away to make a statement about my security to the police precinct.”
She has not posted on X since.
Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee military police, earlier told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol Airport because of possession of soft drugs.”
Image: The Co-op Live in Manchester. Pic: PA
It is unclear if Minaj’s show at Co-op Live has been affected.
A post on the venue’s X account said shortly after 5.15pm: “Please note that general admission and premium doors for tonight’s Nicki Minaj show will now open at 19:00.”
Connor Wynne, who is a fan of the singer, was in the front row and was hopeful he would see her perform tonight.
He told Sky News: “So the organisers… haven’t really told us anything at the moment, like what’s going on with it. But we’re waiting to find out if she’s going to come. We’re hopeful because we’ve all been let into the arena and it’s filling up nicely as well. And we’ve got a good space. So let’s pray and hope that she does arrive.”
Image: Connor Wynne, a Nicki Minaj fan, is at the arena tonight
As part of her Pink Friday World Tour, Minaj is due to perform in Birmingham on Sunday, followed by a concert at London’s O2 arena next Tuesday.
Then on Wednesday, she is due to play in Glasgow followed by a gig on Thursday, again at the Co-op Live in Manchester.
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The beleaguered £365m arena – the UK’s largest indoor entertainment venue – opened earlier this month after it was plagued by a series of problems.
There had been weeks of setbacks, cancellations and postponements, before live music finally got under way there on 14 May when Manchester rock band Elbow took to the stage.
The problems included part of the building’s ventilation and air conditioning system falling to the ground from the ceiling during a soundcheck in early May.
The 23,500-capacity venue was initially due to fully open with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on 23 and 24 April, but these dates were pushed back when problems emerged at a test event headlined by Ricky Astley.
The arena then planned for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to open the arena on 1 May, but it was called off just over an hour before his performance and after doors had opened to fans – because the ventilation system became detached.
The ventilation issue meant scheduled performances by US pop star Olivia Rodrigo and British band Keane were postponed, while a series of shows by Take That were moved to the AO Arena in Manchester.
Flights were grounded and passengers faced hours of delays at Gatwick Airport on Saturday following a system outage.
Travellers reported planes being stuck on the tarmac at the West Sussex airport after problems emerged around 8am this morning.
Dozens of departures and arrivals appeared to be affected, with football fans travelling to Premier League matches among those experiencing issues.
Gatwick Airport has apologised, saying the delays were the result of an “outage” to a National Air Traffic Services (NATS) system.
It comes just months after widespread disruption affected thousands of passengers at airports in August, with NATS chief executive then blaming a “one in 15 million” technical glitch.
Danny Bellringer, 45, was travelling from Dublin with fellow Brighton fans for the game against Burnley when the group was told their Aer Lingus flight would be delayed by at least two hours.
The oil rig worker said: “There’s not a huge amount we can do – we’re kind of used to it when travelling over from Ireland to the UK for games, (it) very rarely goes completely smoothly.”
Padraic Mac Aonghusa, 24, said fellow passengers on his Ryanair flight from Dublin were “angry” when the pilot announced there would be a delay due to the issues at Gatwick.
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A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “There was an outage to a local NATS system earlier this morning which has now been rectified.
“Some passengers may experience delays. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
The spokesperson added that one flight was cancelled and two were diverted from Gatwick.
Luton Airport has said it is “unlikely that any vehicles will be salvageable” after a massive fire caused one of its multi-storey car parks to partially collapse earlier this week.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident at 9.38pm on Tuesday and, at its peak, had 15 fire engines, three specialist aerial appliances and more than 100 firefighters at the scene.
Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer with the service, said as many as 1,500 vehicles were in the car park at the time – with up to 1,200 believed to be damaged.
Holidaymakers who left their cars at the airport say they have been “left in limbo” and have received “no help”.
In a statement, the airport said it is “unlikely that any vehicles in the car park will be salvageable” but this was “still in the process of being assessed”.
It said it had provided the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) with the registration details of 1,405 vehicles and, along with its parking provider APCOA, it had responded to almost 16,500 customer queries since the fire.
An airport spokesperson said it recognised it has been an “extremely distressing” time for those affected and it was working with the Association of British Insurers to establish the possibility of safely retrieving any personal items from the vehicles.
The airport said the emergency services have handed back control of the site and it is working to make it safe.
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Moment fireball consumes Luton Airport car park
‘An extremely distressing time for all concerned’
A London Luton Airport spokesperson added: “We recognise this has been an extremely distressing time for all concerned and we would like to thank our customers for their ongoing patience and understanding while we work through the many complexities following this incident.
“Dealing with such a large volume of inquiries, while an investigation is ongoing, has naturally extended our response times.
“Our team have been tirelessly working around the clock to keep customers informed of developments.
“We also advise all customers affected to notify their insurance company as soon as possible.”
The statement continued: “We are working with the Association of British Insurers on behalf of the many insurance companies to establish whether it will be possible to safely retrieve any personal possessions and, if so, how this process may work.
“Until such time, it will not be possible to provide more detailed information or a specific timeline.
“We remain committed to transparency and resolution and will continue to provide updates as the situation unfolds.”
The airport’s Dart rail transit system, which opened earlier this year, remains closed along with the car park.
Heathrow Airport has said its services will “remain significantly disrupted” on Tuesday after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault.
In a statement about the “technical issues” that affected the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Britain’s busiest airport urged passengers to contact their airline before travelling to the airport.
“The issue has been resolved, however schedules remain significantly disrupted,” it said.
“If you are travelling on 29th August, please ensure you contact your airline before travelling to the airport.”
Brits stuck abroad as warnings disruption could last into the week – live updates
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London Gatwick has said it plans to operate a normal schedule on Tuesday following the disruption.
However, passengers have been advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport.
London Stansted also said it planned to run a normal flight schedule on Tuesday, but added “our terminal may be busier than anticipated”.
And major UK airlines such as Tui and BA warned of “significant delays” for passengers amid changes to schedules.
By Monday afternoon 232 flights departing UK airports had been cancelled along with 271 arriving flights, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. It equates to about 8% of all expected departures and 9% of expected arrivals, Cirium added.
The technical fault meant flight plans had to be input manually by controllers.
Read more: What we know about system failure and how it’s affecting flights
What have airports said about the disruption?
While NATS has confirmed it has fixed the technical issue with the UK’s air traffic control system, airports have warned the disruption it has caused will continue. Here’s what some of them have said.
London Luton Airport: “The earlier technical issue with air traffic control systems has now been resolved, however widespread disruption continues across UK airspace.”
Manchester Airport: “As a result of the nationwide technical problem experienced by NATS earlier today, there continues to be flight disruption, including delays and cancellations.”
Newcastle International Airport: “We understand that the technical issue with National Air Traffic Services is now resolved, but it will take some time for operations to get back to normal.”
London Stansted Airport expects to run a normal flight schedule on Tuesday 29 August, following the nationwide technical issue that affected air traffic control. We do still advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport. As our airlines look to accommodate passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted over the past 24 hours, our terminal may be busier than anticipated.
Our teams will be working with our airlines and their handing agents to get you through the airport as smoothly as possible. Thank-you for your understanding.
Heathrow Airport: We apologise for any inconvenience as a result of the NATS technical issues today. The issue has been resolved however schedules remain significantly disrupted. If you are travelling on 29th August, please ensure you contact your airline before travelling to the airport.
Gatwick Airport plans to operate a normal schedule on Tuesday 29 August following disruption today (28 August). Passengers are however advised to check the status of their flight with the airline before travelling to the airport.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Monday that “despite resolving the technical issue behind today’s air traffic control issues, flights are still unfortunately affected”.
He said he would encourage all passengers to read the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s guidance and “be aware of their rights when flights are delayed or cancelled”.
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1:29
‘I can’t get home to my nine-month-old baby’
Technical issue ‘remedied’ but travellers face continued disruption
Earlier on Monday NATS said the “technical issue” affecting its flight planning system had been “identified and remedied”, but travellers continued to face disruption.
“We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible,” NATS said.
“Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations.
“The flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions.
“Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight.”
Snakes, horses and frogs are among the millions of animals passing through Heathrow Airport every year.
Approximately 19,000 dogs and cats, 28 million fish, 400 horses, 2,000 birds, 50 zoo animals and 150,000 reptiles are imported through the UK’s largest airport.
Each animal is taken from its flight to the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre where they are inspected.
Image: An animal attendant holds a female boa constrictor
Image: An animal attendant holds an adult white tree frog
The animals are provided with temporary accommodation while paperwork and shipments are checked. They can then be reunited with their owners.
The facility, owned and operated by the City of London Corporation, can hold any animal species.
It works with airlines to ensure animals are well cared for and meet the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme, which allows them to travel easily without undergoing quarantine.
Image: Michael Gallo, a lead senior veterinary inspector, holds a starfish
Image: A clownfish at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre
On Thursday, there was also an adult white tree frog, a boa constrictor, a royal python, a clownfish, a starfish and a neon marine fish at the centre.
Image: An owner is reunited with his springer spaniels
Springer spaniels, a German shepherd, a pug and a corgi were among the species of dog also being inspected.
Thames Water have been fined more than £3m after admitting polluting rivers.
The company, which supplies one in four people in Britain with water, had pleaded guilty to four charges relating to illegally discharging waste.
It was fined £3.3m at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday.
The court heard “millions of litres” of undiluted sewage was pumped into the Gatwick Stream and River Mole between Crawley in West Sussex and Horley in Surrey on 11 October, 2017.
The hearing was told that the spill turned the water “black” and killed more than 1,000 fish.
Image: More than 1,000 fish died as a result of sewage in rivers
Judge Christine Laing KC said that she believed the firm had shown a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the Environment Agency over the incident, by omitting water readings and submitting a report to the regulator denying responsibility.
The company has previously been fined £32.4m for pollution incidents in the Thames Valley and south-west London between 2017 and 2021.
During the first day of the hearing on Monday, the court heard how a storm pump at Crawley Sewage Treatment Works site was unexpectedly diverting sewage to its storm tank for 21 hours and went “unnoticed”.
Prosecutor Sailesh Mehta estimated untreated sewage was spilling into the river for six and a half hours after no alarm was raised.
When an alarm was raised the lead technician was unreachable as they were waiting for a new mobile phone.
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Eyewitness accounts read in court said how they saw the river turn “black” and “grey”, with “huge numbers of dead fish” visible in the water.
Nearly 1,400 dead fish were recovered from the rivers by the Environment Agency following the incident.
Lisa Roberts KC, representing Thames Water, said the firm expresses its “unreserved and sincere apology” for the incident, adding: “Put bluntly, it shouldn’t have happened and Thames deeply regrets the event.”
She said the company rejects that previous issues were to blame for the spillage, putting it down to a “faulty switch” in the storm pump which meant the incident could not have been predicted.
A £33m plan to improve the Crawley site has been put in place since the incident, according to Ms Roberts, with aims to complete it by the end of March 2025.
New systems have also been rolled out across other Thames Water sites to prevent such incidents happening again.
The fine comes as the company faces concerns over its future amid a mounting £14bn debt.
Thames Water’s chief executive Sarah Bentley stepped down with immediate effect last week after she gave up her bonus due to the company’s environmental performance.
In 2021, Southern Water was fined a record £90m for nearly 7,000 incidents of illegal discharge of sewage across Hampshire, Kent and Sussex.
