Top Prosecutor To Examine G20 Death

The Director of Public Prosecutions is to examine whether there is enough evidence to charge a Met Police officer with manslaughter over the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.

Keir Starmer QC vowed to launch a quick and "thorough" review of his decision not to prosecute Pc Simon Harwood after an inquest jury unanimously ruled Mr Tomlinson was unlawfully killed at the protests.

Jurors delivered a damning assessment of the Scotland Yard officer's actions, saying he "deliberately and intentionally" shoved the newspaper seller to the ground.

Pc Harwood, a father-of-two, will now become the first officer to face a public Metropolitan Police disciplinary inquiry.

As family members welcomed the inquest jury's finding two years after Mr Tomlinson's death, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rose Fitzpatrick expressed her "profound condolences".

Speaking after the three-day inquest, she said: "It is a matter of deep regret that the actions of an MPS officer have been found to have caused the death of a member of the public."

Mr Tomlinson collapsed after suffering internal bleeding as a result of the officer's "excessive and unreasonable" force, the jury said.

They discredited evidence from both Pc Harwood and pathologist Dr Freddy Patel.

In a written statement, the jurors told the inquest: "Both the baton strike and the push were excessive and unreasonable.

"As a result, Mr Tomlinson suffered internal bleeding which led to his collapse within a few minutes and his subsequent death.

"At the time of the strike and the push, Mr Tomlinson was walking away from the police line. He was complying with police instructions to leave Royal Exchange Buildings, the passage. He posed no threat."

Paul King, Mr Tomlinson's stepson, thanked the jury as he spoke of his hopes that the Crown Prosecution Service would reverse its decision last year not to pursue manslaughter charges.

Standing alongside Mr Tomlinson's widow Julia outside the hearing, he said: "After two years, we're really grateful that the inquest process has made a strong statement about how Ian died.

"We are grateful to the jury and the coroner and we think the jury finding speaks for itself in the verdict of unlawful killing."

Mr Tomlinson, a homeless 47-year-old newspaper seller, collapsed and died on the fringes of the demonstrations in central London on April 1, 2009.

His death became the focus of attention after New York businessman Christopher La Jaunie handed footage he had taken of the police confrontation to the Guardian newspaper.

Dr Patel's claim that Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack was dismissed by a string of experts who said he died of internal bleeding.

Pc Harwood was accused by the victim's family of telling lies in a bid to get off the hook.

Mr Tomlinson had been turned away from a line of officers with his hands in his pockets when Pc Harwood hit out.

A variety of recordings show Mr Tomlinson staggering away from a police cordon after being hit with a baton.

He is then seen gesturing to police and appearing angry after tumbling to the ground.

Lying flat out on the pavement he mutters "they got me, the f****** got me" before dying minutes later.

Mr Tomlinson, who was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, was an alcoholic with a series of medical complaints who had slept rough for 20 years.

Appearing for three days at the hearing in Fleet Street, central London, Pc Harwood apologised to family members for "any way" in which he may have been responsible for Mr Tomlinson's death.

After the verdict solicitors for Pc Harwood released a statement from the officer.

"PC Harwood would like to repeat how sorry he is that Mr. Tomlinson died," it read.

"PC Harwood did not intend, or foresee at the time, that his push would cause Mr. Tomlinson to fall over, let alone that it would result in any injury."