GREATER Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged people to take a step back as “nobody is in possession of the complete picture” of the incident at the city’s airport last week.

Protests and outrage erupted after a video showed a police officer kicking and stamping on a young man’s head as he lay on the ground at the airport.

The video also shows a cop throwing a punch at a young man, who then retaliated as the incident escalated into more violence.

Four people were arrested in Tuesday’s incident, which is believed to have involved two brothers from Rochdale.

The fracas was followed by angry anti-police protests in Manchester and Rochdale, with more were expected at the weekend, including at Rochdale police station yesterday.

Mr Burnham condemned the violence against the man who was kicked but cautioned against judgement after new footage has emerged showing the lead-up to the incident.

He said: “It’s a complicated situation, a very violent situation actually, and there were issues on both sides.

“That’s why I asked other people not to rush to judgement because of the complexity of it and, simply, everyone who’s having their say, nobody has got all of the facts.”

The Independent Office of Police Conduct said a police officer has been suspended and faces disciplinary action and a criminal investigation in relation to the incident.

Paul Waugh, the newly elected Labour MP for Rochdale, shared a statement written by the family urging people to give those involved “time to heal” and for due process to take its course.