Fact Check: Katie Hopkins Says Manchester Airport Attackers “Will Never Face Charges” — One Was Convicted and Jailed
THE CLAIM
In an episode of Batshit Bonkers Britain, Katie Hopkins discusses several stories, including protests following the death of Henry Noack, the Manchester Airport incident and reports of ticks that can cause an allergy to meat.
Speaking about the Manchester Airport incident, Hopkins says:
“How strange it is that you can be one of the Mujahideen, two individuals, you can beat up police officers in an airport, and you’re still free and will never face charges.”
Later in the video, discussing ticks in America that can cause people to develop an allergy to meat, Hopkins says:
“Bill Gates did do some research into ticks. I mean, I don’t want to act like the conspiracy theorist, but wouldn’t it be convenient if we were bitten by ticks that stopped us being able to eat meat or dairy because obviously that would help save the planet…”
Both claims deserve checking.
WATCH THE ORIGINAL VIDEO
THE MANCHESTER AIRPORT CLAIM
Hopkins tells viewers that the two individuals involved in the Manchester Airport incident could “beat up police officers in an airport” yet remain free and “will never face charges.”
That is contradicted by what subsequently happened in the criminal courts.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was prosecuted over the Manchester Airport incident.
He was convicted of:
• assault occasioning actual bodily harm;
• assault by beating; and
• assault on an emergency worker.
On 26 June 2026, Liverpool Crown Court sentenced him to three-and-a-half years in prison.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the incident began after Amaaz assaulted a passenger in a Starbucks at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 on 23 July 2024.
When police officers attempted to arrest him, the violence continued and one officer suffered a broken nose.
The CPS said CCTV footage and witness testimony demonstrated how the incident unfolded and showed that Amaaz had acted unlawfully.
So the suggestion that someone involved could attack police officers at Manchester Airport, remain free and “never face charges” does not describe the eventual outcome.
One of the men was prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned.
IMPORTANT CONTEXT
There is some complexity to the Manchester Airport case.
Not every allegation arising from the incident resulted in a conviction, and separate proceedings concerning other alleged assaults did not produce convictions.
But that does not make the statement “will never face charges” accurate.
A prosecution did take place.
A conviction followed.
And one of the men received a substantial prison sentence.
THE TICK CLAIM
Hopkins then moves to America and says ticks have been discovered that can make people allergic to meat and dairy.
That part has a genuine scientific basis.
The condition is called alpha-gal syndrome.
Certain tick bites can cause the human immune system to become sensitised to alpha-gal, a molecule found in most mammals.
Someone who develops alpha-gal syndrome can subsequently suffer allergic reactions after eating mammalian meat such as beef, pork or lamb. Some people can also react to dairy and other products derived from mammals.
The condition can be serious and, in some cases, can cause anaphylaxis.
So Hopkins is essentially correct that tick bites can result in an allergy affecting meat and potentially dairy products.
BUT WHAT ABOUT BILL GATES?
This is where a real medical condition becomes mixed with an unsupported insinuation.
Hopkins says:
“Bill Gates did do some research into ticks.”
She then asks whether it would be “convenient” if ticks made people unable to eat meat or dairy because that would help “save the planet.”
There really has been Gates Foundation funding connected with research into genetically modifying ticks.
But that fact does not establish the connection Hopkins appears to invite viewers to consider.
The research involved a species of cattle tick and was aimed at controlling a parasite that damages livestock.
It was not research designed to make humans allergic to meat.
Crucially, the genetically modified ticks involved in that research were not the Lone Star ticks primarily associated with alpha-gal syndrome in the United States.
The genetically modified tick research was also conducted in laboratories rather than through releasing those ticks into the American environment.
There is therefore no evidence that Gates-funded tick research is responsible for people developing alpha-gal syndrome.
THE TIMELINE IS ALSO A PROBLEM
Alpha-gal syndrome did not suddenly appear after the Gates-funded research.
The relationship between tick bites and mammalian-meat allergy had been recognised by scientists years earlier.
Research into alpha-gal syndrome and tick-associated meat allergy substantially predates the Gates-funded programme referred to in conspiracy claims.
In other words, the phenomenon Hopkins is discussing already existed before the research she invokes as potentially suspicious.
A REAL CONDITION DOES NOT PROVE A CONSPIRACY
This is an important distinction.
These statements can both be true:
Ticks can cause people to develop an allergy to mammalian meat.
The Gates Foundation has funded research involving ticks.
But putting those two facts next to one another does not demonstrate that one caused the other.
Evidence would be required to establish that connection.
The available evidence instead points in the opposite direction: different tick species were involved, the modified ticks were laboratory research, and alpha-gal syndrome was already known before that programme.
CONCLUSION
This video mixes genuine events with claims and insinuations that do not survive closer examination.
Alpha-gal syndrome is real. Tick bites can cause some people to develop potentially serious allergies to mammalian meat and other animal products.
But there is no evidence that Gates-funded tick research caused the condition or represents a scheme to prevent people eating meat and dairy.
More strikingly, Hopkins’ claim that individuals involved in the Manchester Airport violence could attack police officers, remain free and “never face charges” was overtaken decisively by events.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was prosecuted.
He was convicted.
And on 26 June 2026 he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
VERDICT
FALSE / MISLEADING
The statement that those involved in the Manchester Airport incident would “never face charges” was proved wrong: Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.
The claim that ticks can cause meat allergy is substantially true.
However, the insinuation connecting alpha-gal syndrome with Gates-funded tick research and an environmental agenda to stop people eating meat or dairy is unsupported by the evidence.
SOURCES
Crown Prosecution Service — Man sentenced over Manchester Airport incident
https://www.cps.gov.uk/national-news-north-west/news/man-sentenced-over-manchester-airport-incident
UK Health Security Agency — Alpha-gal Syndrome
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alpha-gal-syndrome
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Alpha-gal Syndrome
https://www.cdc.gov/alpha-gal-syndrome/about/index.html
PolitiFact — No connection between Gates-funded modified ticks and meat allergy
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/sep/01/instagram-posts/no-connection-between-gates-funded-modified-ticks/
Original Katie Hopkins video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbCcL8LcxYs
Batshit Bonkers Katie Hopkins 