Responding to the inquest jury ruling that newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson was unlawfully killed by PC Simon Harwood at G20 protests in London, Jenny Jones, Green member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said:
"Having heard all the evidence, the jury are beyond doubt that PC Harwood’s brutality was deliberate, unjustified and contributed to Ian Tomlinson’s death.
"Ian Tomlinson’s family must be relieved to finally have public recognition of the fact that he was unlawfully killed. But the question remains as to when PC Harwood will face the consequences of what he has done. There simply has to be a prosecution to bring him to justice.
"We have so often seen the police appearing to get away with serious assault or even manslaughter. From Blair Peach to Jean Charles de Menezes, Ian Tomlinson’s death must not join that list."
Notes to editors
1) Police have in the past justified their actions on the basis of their perception of the level of threat at the time – e.g. the officers following Jean Charles de Menezes, Sergeant Smilie at the G20 protests – even if this perception turned out to be wrong. The Tomlinson Inquest jury have rejected PC Harwood’s explanation that he perceived Ian Tomlinson to be an imminent threat at the time. In delivering the unlawful killing verdict, they have concluded that he was lying about his perception at the time.