Two brothers involved in a violent altercation with police at Manchester Airport were collectively granted over £113,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, was convicted of assaulting two police officers and a civilian at the airport in July 2024 and subsequently jailed for three and a half years.
His brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, was acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm to an officer after two trials failed to reach a verdict, leading the prosecution to abandon a retrial. Amaaz received £78,420.42 in legal aid, including £59,200.70 for barristers' fees and £19,219.72 for solicitors' bills. Amaad was allocated £34,694.56, comprising £16,450.94 in barristers' fees and £18,243.62 for solicitors.
The total cost of prosecuting the pair is estimated to be close to £2 million. The incident gained public attention when footage of the assault circulated widely. Amaaz's conviction involved charges for assaulting PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook, as well as a Starbucks customer. The assault on PC Zachary Marsden by Muhammad Amaad did not result in a conviction.
During the legal proceedings, defense lawyers for the brothers reportedly made extensive efforts to have the case dismissed. These efforts included arguments over alleged bias following an incident where a court staff member reportedly commented that Amaaz should have been kicked harder by PC Marsden, who had been filmed kicking Amaaz in the face while allegedly defending his colleagues. This remark led to arguments about the police force having a "toxic" environment and a "hostility culture."
Defense teams also sought to suppress CCTV footage of the incident, arguing it lacked audio, and attempted to introduce past allegations of improper force against the officers involved in the assault. The judge ultimately ruled that these previous complaints, which had been rejected at the time, should not be presented to the jury. One of the barristers representing Muhammad Amaad was from chambers associated with Michael Mansfield KC, while Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was represented by Imran Khan KC, known for his work with the Stephen Lawrence family.