No Action Taken Over Misleading Clip as GMP Faces Fresh Criticism..
- teessidetoday
- Jan 30
- 3 min read
Greater Manchester Police Will Not Investigate Misleading Video Complaint Despite it being shared by a town Labour MP.
30th Jan 2026
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that no offence has been identified in connection with a complaint brought by Reform UK over a misleading video post shared online, meaning the force will now take no further action over the matter.
The announcement, made public this week, effectively closes the latest chapter in a political dispute that's divided commentators and cast a spotlight on both social media misinformation and police priorities.
The complaint was lodged by Reform UK after both the Labour Party and Labour MP for Hartlepool Jonathan Brash shared a clipped video of political commentator Matt Goodwin, widely circulated with the suggestion that Goodwin held a disparaging view of Manchester on the eve of a by-election. Reform UK argued that the video constituted a “false statement of fact” against its candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election. In its full context, Goodwin was actually referring to the atmosphere at a conference event held in the same city, not the city itself.
However, Greater Manchester Police's assessment concluded that the material did not meet the threshold for criminality and chose not to pursue an investigation, leaving Reform UK’s complaint unresolved in the eyes of the law.
The decision by Greater Manchester Police to refuse to investigate the complaint re-ignites familiar grievances about policing priorities and past failings. GMP's record on serious safeguarding issues has been the subject of repeated scrutiny in recent years, most notably cases involving child sexual exploitation and wrongful convictions.
The Rochdale child sex abuse scandal, in which dozens of men were eventually convicted for trafficking and abuse, exposed deep concerns over how GMP and partner agencies investigated and responded to reports of exploitation. Many victims and campaigners contended that earlier action might have prevented further harm, with allegations that fear of being accused of racial prejudice contributed to investigative hesitation. Though official reports have noted improvements since then, no new investigations or prosecutions have stemmed from the initial failures to act decisively.
In another high-profile case, Andrew Malkinson — a man from Greater Manchester — spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit before his conviction was eventually overturned thanks to DNA evidence. Subsequent inquiries examined GMP’s handling of his case and why earlier appeals were repeatedly rejected, raising questions about institutional resistance to admitting and correcting errors.
To many living in Manchester and beyond, they're reminders of what critics describe as systemic shortcomings in a police force that now insists there is “no offence identified” in a matter that was heavily debated in political and public forums.
Local residents and political commentators have expressed frustration that police resources were not deemed appropriate to investigate a widely shared false & highly doctored video clip that had the potential to influence an upcoming election, especially when contrasted with the scale and long-term impact of previous safeguarding failures, with some arguing that the refusal to pursue the misleading video complaint reflects a broader pattern of inconsistent action and accountability by the largely left wing extremist police force.
The episode has become another flashpoint in debates over how political content circulates on social media, the role of elected officials in amplifying potentially misleading material, and the responsibilities of the police in protecting democracy. .
In Hartlepool, Jonathan Brash, the Labour MP for Hartlepool has faced significant criticism for his sharing of the misleading post with many locals seemingly highlighting the issue on his social media posts finding themselves to be 'blocked' or the comments swiftly deleted.
