Tomlinson inquest gets under way

Full coverage of the inquest into the death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson after he was struck by police during the G20 protests in London in 2009 11.53am: In his opening remarks, the coroner told the jury their task was to find the cause of death of Tomlinson. In summary, he: • Warned the jury to avoid researching the abundance of material about his death available on the internet, as well as press reports from the inquest. • Told the jury to ignore the fact that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) chose not to bring criminal proceedings against the officer. “That was not a final decision, but a provisional decision,” he said. “He may review that decision after the inquest.” • Stated that the inquest would consider some broader issues, but would not be as wide-reaching as a public inquiry. “Nobody is on trial. No organisation is on trial. You as the jury will not decide any question of civil or criminal liability.” • Gave a summary of Tomlinson’s last 30 minutes alive. He explained how he left Monument tube station, where he had been selling the Evening Standard newspaper, shortly before 7pm. He made his way north, encountering several police cordons, before his encounter with PC Simon Harwood at Royal Exchange buildings. 11.44am: The video shown to the jury is a compilation of still pictures, CCTV footage and pictures taken from a police helicopter. It shows the newspaper seller trying to find a way through the various streets in the area, many of which were cordoned off. The helicopter footage shows police medics treating Tomlinson after he fell to the ground in Cornhill. 11.38am: In his opening remarks, the coroner summarised the events leading up to Tomlinson’s death. He told the jury that it wasn’t clear where Tomlinson was heading on the evening he died, but it’s possible he was heading home to a hostel in the Smithfield area. The jury was also told that Tomlinson suffered from alcoholism and had been drinking that day. The jury members were then shown a compilation of video footage, which has not been seen before. Later, the jury will visit the location in the City of London where Tomlinson died. 10.57am: Welcome to the first day of our coverage of the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller who was struck by police during the G20 protests in London in 2009. Judge Peter Thornton QC, a senior judge sitting as assistant deputy coroner, is overseeing proceedings, which in fact began yesterday with legal argument that we are unable to report. A jury of seven men and five women were sworn in at 2.15pm, after what Thornton conceded was an “unusually protracted process” due to the limited number of suitable candidates in London’s Square Mile. They were sent home while the legal debates continued. Over the next five to six weeks the jury will determine Tomlinson’s cause of death, deciding specifically whether he was unlawfully killed by police. I’ll be live-blogging, tweeting, and writing reports. You can email me in confidence at paul.lewis@guardian.co.uk or message me on Twitter . Tomlinson’s family, most of whom are in the hearing today, have been waiting almost exactly two years since the day of his death to get to this point. It has been a long road, so here is a brief recap of how we got here. Tomlinson died on 1 April 2009, the day of the G20 protests in London . He was not a protester, but was trying to pick a route home through the City of London. Many of the streets around the Bank of England had been cordoned off by police detaining activists in “kettles”, and Tomlinson found himself caught up in the crowds. He was struck by a police officer around 7.30pm on Cornhill. Police initially claimed he died of natural causes and there was no investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). That changed six days later, when the Guardian released video footage showing Tomlinson being struck from behind then pushed in the back by a member of the Met’s Territorial Support Group (TSG). Tomlinson, who had his back to the officer and his hands in his pockets, fell to the ground and was unable to break his fall. He collapsed and died shortly afterwards. In July last year, the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, announced there would be no charges laid against the officer who struck Tomlinson. Ian Tomlinson G20 Protest Police London Independent Police Complaints Commission Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 29, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.