Jury fails to reach verdict in trial of two men accused of assaulting police officer at Manchester Airport

They denied the charge and claimed they were acting in self-defence.

Jurors were discharged by Judge Neil Flewitt KC after deliberating for nearly 20 hours.

The case was adjourned until May 29 to give time to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether it wants to seek a third trial.

Judge Flewitt told jurors: "You are, as I'm sure you're aware, not the first jury to consider the case. You are not the first jury to fail to reach a verdict in relation to this particular count. I don't want you to feel in any way you have failed.

"The prosecution will now consider their position and decide whether they want to ask me to have a further trial, which will be unusual but not unknown."

The trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard the siblings, both of Tarnside Close, had earlier visited the airport to pick up their mother.

Mr Amaaz, the court heard, assaulted a man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil in a Starbucks at the airport after his mother “had some form of disagreement” with Mr Ismaeil on a flight back to the UK from Pakistan via Qatar.

Mr Amaaz claimed his mother was racially abused by Mr Ismaeil on the flight.

Mr Amaaz then assaulted two police officers in a pay station at terminal two following the incident on July 23, 2024, the court heard.

At a previous trial last year, Mr Amaaz was convicted of assaulting Mr Ismaeil in Starbucks, and of assaulting two police officers, PC Ellie Cook and PC Lydia Ward.

PC Ward, who was unarmed, was left in tears after breaking her nose and bleeding “profusely”.

PC Cook, meanwhile, suffered “relatively minor injuries”.

PC Marsden was said to have suffered a post-concussion syndrome, which is said to have included a “severe headache for three days” and episodes of dizziness. He is also said to have struggled with talking.

The fracas saw PC Marsden kick Mr Amaaz in the face before brining his foot down to his head in a stamping motion, the court heard.

Giving evidence in his defence, Mr Amaaz said he thought he could end up dead when “grabbed” by PC Marsden during the incident.

“I was thinking, ‘why is this guy using so much force?’”, he said.

“The way he was grabbing my neck, I thought ‘this guy forces me down to the ground, he is going to beat me, he’s going to beat me to this point I can’t breathe and I am dead’.”

Mr Amaaz said he did not act offensively towards PC Marsden and said he believed he was under attack.