'I want my attacker to show remorse': Police officer punched in Manchester airport brawl reveals how she's become a mother but is happy to return to the front line

By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:17, 27 June 2026 | Updated: 18:26, 27 June 2026 The policewoman left bloodied and sobbing after she was punched in the face while trying to arrest a man at Manchester Airport said she wants her attacker to show 'some remorse'.  PC Lydia Ward suffered a broken nose and was left needing surgery when she was assaulted by Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, in terminal two of the airport in July 2024.  The 29-year-old revealed today she is yet to receive an apology from Amaaz, who was yesterday jailed for three and a half years for causing her actual bodily harm.  Speaking in her first interview, PC Ward said she wants to understand why university dropout Amaaz 'did what he did', adding that he is yet to show any regret.  She also revealed she has just become a mother - and while the attack still affects her every day, she wants to return to the frontline of policing again.  The incident, which sparked accusations of police racism and two-tier justice, erupted after Amaaz headbutted a Kuwaiti holidaymaker whom he accused of racially abusing his mother, Shameem Akhtar. PC Ward and two armed colleagues caught up with then-19-year-old Amaaz as the group were paying for parking and they took hold of him from either side in an attempt to arrest him. Instead, Amaaz and his brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, began throwing punches at PC Ward and her colleague PC Ellie Cook.  PC Lydia Ward suffered a broken nose and was left needing surgery when she was attacked by Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, in Terminal Two of the airport in July 2024 The 29-year-old revealed today she is yet to receive an apology from university dropout Amaaz, who was yesterday jailed for three and a half years Amaaz was convicted of causing actual bodily harm to PC Ward, who suffered a broken nose, and assaulting PC Ellie Cook 'It was really, really painful. That's the main thing that sticks in my mind, and the shock that it had happened, and how frightened I was,' PC Ward told Sky News.  'You are never prepared for that, even though I know I'm a police officer, and I have been in situations where I felt frightened before, never as much as in that moment.'  She added: 'I would have liked to have understood why he did what he did, and I want him to understand how him doing that has impacted my life. 'Also maybe for him to take some responsibility for what he's done and show some remorse.'  Footage of the brawl shows Amaaz smashing PC Ward in the face and sending her sprawling to the ground, before repeatedly hitting PC Cook. His brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, meanwhile overpowered PC Zachary Marsden and began raining punches down before Amaaz joined in. The brothers were finally both arrested after PC Cook fired her 50,000 volt Taser at Amaaz, who fell to the floor. CCTV of Amaaz swinging a punch and hitting PC Lydia Ward in the nose Amaaz, 21 (left), and 26-year-old Muhammad Amaad pictured last year  Amid the confusion, PC Marsden kicked the teenager in the face and aimed a stamp close by. Footage of the kick was filmed by onlookers and went viral online, with protesters taking to the streets holding 'Black Lives Matter' placards and calling for the police to be 'defunded'. But there was a fierce backlash after leaked CCTV footage showed the violence PC Marsden and his two female colleagues had been subjected to just seconds earlier. PC Ward said it was 'really frustrating' that only part of the video at first was released online.  'There was an element of me being angry about that, because I just wanted to scream, "No, that's not the full, that's not the full story".  'It's frustrating, because me, and anybody that I've worked with, we do not go out every day looking to target a certain group of people or anything like that.  'We just go out, we do our job.'  Following the assault, it took 150 days for prosecutors to announce that PC Marsden would not be charged with any offence. Instead the brothers were charged with assaulting the three officers. Firearms officer PC Marsden kicks Amaaz  in the face during the fracas at Manchester Airport in July 2024 (pictured on footage from a colleague's body-worn camera) The delay was down to needing to wait for overlapping investigations by police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the Crown Prosecution Service has stressed. A trial last year saw horrifying bodycam footage of the brutal violence meted out by Amaaz, throwing a total of ten punches in the melee. But while Amaaz was convicted of causing actual bodily harm to PC Ward and assaulting PC Cook, as well as assaulting the passenger, jurors could not reach verdicts on whether either brother had assaulted PC Marsden. In court they insisted that they were acting in self-defence or the defence of one another. Amaaz also denied knowing the two officers he punched in the face were female, saying he had 'nothing but love and respect for women'. Last month a new jury at Liverpool Crown Court once again failed to reach verdicts on whether either had assaulted PC Marsden, with prosecutors controversially saying later that they would not be seeking a second retrial. This week Greater Manchester's 'anti-woke' Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said he wanted anyone who assaulted his officers to be prosecuted to the 'fullest extent of the law' – but declined to criticise the decision. However, detectives are understood to have been in favour of a third trial, the Manchester Evening News reported. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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