A British police officer is under criminal investigation over an incident at Manchester Airport in which a suspect was kicked and stamped on during an arrest, the police watchdog says.

“We can confirm we are conducting a criminal investigation into the use of force during events which took place on 23 July at Manchester Airport. We are arranging to interview a police constable under criminal caution as soon as possible,” Regional Director Catherine Bates of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said in a statement on Friday.

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The officer involved would be formally interviewed “as soon as possible”, she added.

Greater Manchester Police in northwest England suspended an officer from all duties after the incident on Tuesday.

Video footage of the incident, which has circulated online, caused public outrage and two nights of protests in Manchester and nearby Rochdale.

The IOPC said it was looking at the “level of force” used.

Details of what happened immediately before and after the video remain unclear. Police said the “use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm”.

Greater Manchester Police said three officers were assaulted while apprehending a suspect at the airport after reports of an assault. One female officer suffered a broken nose and required hospital treatment, the department said.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham told the BBC after seeing the full footage leading up to the circulated clip that it was “not a clear-cut situation” and that while the clip was “disturbing”, there were issues “on both sides”.

Two men were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of assault and assault of an emergency worker. Two more men were arrested, suspected of fighting and of assaulting an emergency worker.