Yousef Makki: MP questions whether defendants would have gone free if they were 'black state school pupils'

Yousef Ghaleb Makki, 17, was stabbed to death in Hale Barns on Saturday (Picture: PA)

An MP has questioned the verdicts in the Yousef Makki murder trial and whether the teenagers would have been acquitted if they had been black and state school educated.

Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, made the comments in the wake of the verdicts in a trial linked to 17-year-old Yousef Makki's death.

Yousef was stabbed in the heart with a knife on a tree-lined street in the upmarket village of Hale Barns, Cheshire.

A teen, who cannot be named, was charged in connection with his death, and cleared of the charges of murder and manslaughter following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

You do have to ask if these defendants were black, at state school and from, say, moss side whether they would have been acquitted ... https://t.co/VYsSXhMU5M

— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell)

July 12, 2019

After they were cleared, Ms Powell wrote on Twitter: "You do have to ask if these defendants were black, at state school and from, say, moss side whether they would have been acquitted..."

Her tweet sparked a mixed response, with some agreeing with her stance and others questioning whether it was "appropriate" for her to make such a comment.

The pair, identified as Boy A and Boy B, were cleared of multiple charges last Friday.

Flowers and tributes are placed in memory of 17-year-old stabbing victim Yousef Ghaleb Makki (Getty Images)

Boy A denied murder on March 2, claiming he acted in self-defence, and was cleared of the charge.

He admitted perverting the course of justice by lying to police and possession of a flick knife.

Yousef Makki died in March (PA)

Boy B, was cleared of perverting the course of justice by allegedly lying to police about what he had seen but also admitted possession of a flick knife.

Both were also cleared of conspiracy to commit robbery in the lead up to Yousef's death.

Both defendants still face sentencing for possession of the flick knives, purchased by boy B from an app called Wish.

Boy A also faces sentence for perverting the course of justice.

The court heard the background to the fatal stabbing on Gorse Bank Road, Hale Barns, was that hours earlier, Boy B arranged a £45 cannabis deal and the teenagers planned to rob the drug dealer, a "soft target". This was disputed by the defence and not accepted by the jury.

A local man passing by, a heart surgeon, performed emergency surgery in the back of an ambulance but Yousef suffered catastrophic blood loss.

Additional reporting by PA.