Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham has criticised Reform UK MP Lee Anderson for his response to footage which appeared to show a police officer kicking and stamping on a man. Mr Anderson told the BBC the police officers involved faced a “clear risk” and should be “commended”. However, Labour’s Mr Burnham branded his comments “irresponsible” and said the footage was “very disturbing”.An officer has been suspended over the incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday. Footage which circulated online showed a uniformed male officer holding a taser over the man, who was lying on the ground at Terminal 2, before kicking him in the head twice.The full details of what happened in the lead-up to the incident are not yet clear.However, a police spokesman said firearms officers had been punched to the ground while trying to make an arrest following a fight in the airport.There had been a “clear risk” their weapons could be taken from them, the police spokesman said, adding all three had been taken to hospital, one with a broken nose.Four men were arrested on suspicion of assault and affray.The video sparked a protest outside Rochdale police station on Wednesday night, where hundreds of people gathered, and chants of “shame on you” were heard.In response to the footage, Mr Anderson, who defected to Reform from the Conservatives earlier this year, said: “We need to back our police officers”. The MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire told the BBC: “The message I’m getting loud and clear from my constituents is that they are fed up with seeing police dancing around rainbows and being nice to people. “They want the police to do their job. I think these police yesterday should be commended. In fact, I’d give them a medal.”He added: “If there …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnGreater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham has criticised Reform UK MP Lee Anderson for his response to footage which appeared to show a police officer kicking and stamping on a man. Mr Anderson told the BBC the police officers involved faced a “clear risk” and should be “commended”. However, Labour’s Mr Burnham branded his comments “irresponsible” and said the footage was “very disturbing”.An officer has been suspended over the incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday. Footage which circulated online showed a uniformed male officer holding a taser over the man, who was lying on the ground at Terminal 2, before kicking him in the head twice.The full details of what happened in the lead-up to the incident are not yet clear.However, a police spokesman said firearms officers had been punched to the ground while trying to make an arrest following a fight in the airport.There had been a “clear risk” their weapons could be taken from them, the police spokesman said, adding all three had been taken to hospital, one with a broken nose.Four men were arrested on suspicion of assault and affray.The video sparked a protest outside Rochdale police station on Wednesday night, where hundreds of people gathered, and chants of “shame on you” were heard.In response to the footage, Mr Anderson, who defected to Reform from the Conservatives earlier this year, said: “We need to back our police officers”. The MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire told the BBC: “The message I’m getting loud and clear from my constituents is that they are fed up with seeing police dancing around rainbows and being nice to people. “They want the police to do their job. I think these police yesterday should be commended. In fact, I’d give them a medal.”He added: “If there …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
