Nigel Farage MP, leader of the Reform UK political party, will today announce the commencement of a private prosecution against brothers accused of brawling with police officers at Manchester Airport.
That's according to journalist Glen Owen, writing in today's Mail On Sunday newspaper.
There is apparently no dispute that the brothers in question, Muhammad Amaaz and Amaad Amaaz, were involved in an altercation with police on Tuesday, 23rd July 2024.
They have appeared in several press conferences in relation to the matter, in which they accuse the officers in question of acting with unlawful force.
I am not going to discuss the matter further, given the imminence of proceedings. I doubt there will be many people reading who are not familiar with the circumstances.
The CPS has not yet reached a charging decision in relation to any of the alleged participants in the melee. However, Greater Manchester Police referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Thursday, 25th July 2024.
On Monday, 7th October 2024 the five Reform UK Members of Parliament sent a joint letter about the incident to the Home Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP.
The letter, which you can read above, concluded with the statement: "We are therefore serving notice that if the CPS is not going to charge the assailants, then we will organise a private criminal prosecution against them."
Section 6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 gives anyone the right to commence a criminal prosecution at the Magistrates' Court. This is the power used by organisations like the RSPCA and BBC to prosecute animal welfare and TV licence offences respectively.
Commencing a prosecution in this way is actually very straightforward. Effectively the individual wishing to commence the prosecution sends the court a written summary of the offences they accuse another of committing. This written information is then considered by either a Justices' Clerk (or assistant) or Justice of the Peace, who will issue a summons if they think there could be a case to answer.
At this stage the bar is not very high and as long as the accused is correctly identified and a criminal allegation made, it would likely proceed to summons.
Section 6(2) of the Act allows the Director of Public Prosecutions to take over any prosecution commenced in this way. If that were to happen, the CPS can discontinue any prosecution it considers to be lacking evidentially or in terms of the public interest.
In relation to the Manchester Airport case, Reform UK is clearly of the view that the CPS lacks the inclination to prosecute any offences in its own right. That being the case, heads would certainly turn if the CPS decided to take over and kill off a prosecution commenced by Reform UK.
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