Overview

• The Independent Office for Police Conduct declared an independent investigation on August 3 and is examining custody suite CCTV, body-worn footage and officers’ statements
• Greater Manchester Police say Ellis Rocks was arrested after a report of alleged drug dealing at the Britannia Hotel in Standish, with no protest activity involved
• The force notes Serco’s contract to house asylum seekers at the hotel ended in July 2024, refuting claims spread by Tommy Robinson and other commentators
• GMP has fully cooperated with IOPC investigators, submitting initial officer accounts and maintaining transparent communication with Rocks’s family
• Rocks’s mother and sister have been briefed on the inquiry and have vowed to pursue accountability over the 26-year-old’s in-custody death