Dr Patel gives Tomlinson evidence

• Former Home Office pathologist Freddy Patel giving evidence • Inquest has heard that cause of death will be ‘controversial’ • Ian Tomlinson died at the G20 protests in London in 2009 • Follow live coverage throughout the day 10.58am: Hewitt: “Did you have any evidence before you to suggest that Ian Tomlinson had suffered an injury as a result of an assault or crush injuries or anything of that sort?” Patel: “No, I didn’t have any direct evidence. But because it was a Section 19 [routine postmortem], it was upgraded to a Section 20 [suspicious death case] – now you can have a Section 20 without involvement of the police and so I feel that I may have queried why are the police attending and [I] would have been informed by the coroner’s officers that they would like to rule out whether [Tomlinson] had suffered any injuries as a result of an assault and there was a big crowd there, whether he suggested any crush injuries related to the protesters in the public disorder.” 10.55am: Freddy Patel has just revealed police gave him additional information moments before he conducted the postmortem. Patel took contemporaneous notes in a 21-page booklet. The jury now has this, and Hewitt is talking through what he wrote while conducting the examination. The postmortem took place at 5pm. Detective Superintendant Tony Crampton, the City of London police officer leading the inquiry, was present along with three other police officers. The police gave him additional information (to that included in the fax) before he began examining the body. The additional information was that [Tomlinson] was found collapsed outdoors on the pavement but there were no police officers nearby – when I say nearby I mean in the immediate vicinity of the body. There was a lot of broken glass bottles and a lot of protesters were using sticks and there were a lot of sticks around the body where it was found. That was the information I was given before we went into the mortuary. Important: I should note that none of the footage or photographs shown to the jury so far have shown protesters “using sticks” or sticks in the immediate vicinity of the body after collapse. The jury saw one photograph showing an unbroken bottle although bystanders heard other bottles breaking nearby. 10.34am: To assist his examination, Patel received information from the coroner’s office via fax. It included basic biographical details, and stated Tomlinson had collapsed two days earlier on Cornhill. The pathologist was told bystanders saw Tomlinson “went blue” and police, “who were nearby, due to the demonstration”, administered first aid. The fax gave details of Tomlinson’s medical problems and stated he was an alcoholic who had been a “rough sleeper in the city of the last 20 years” who had recently secured accommodation at a hostel. 10.28am: Alison Hewitt , counsel for the inquest, is questioning Patel. He said that the postmortem examination on Tomlinson’s body took place on Friday 3 April – two days after his death. He explained it would have occurred the previous day, but there was a delay. If I remember correctly the postmortem was done on the Friday. On the Thursday morning I received a call from the mortuary – there was a body and the coroner would like a postmortem … As far as I remember it was going to be a routine postmortem examination, or Section 19. I got to the mortuary on the Thursday, and one of the police officers who had come to do identification was also present. Then I was informed by the coroner’s officer that due to some legal arguments or whatever, the postmortem couldn’t go ahead that day. Patel said that by the time he did get round to doing the postmortem, he was told it had been “upgraded” to a “Section 20″ (forensic examination in a suspicious death case). 10.17am: Dr Freddy Patel has taken the stand. He is wearing a stripey red tie and is resting his hands on a file of papers he has taken with him. He listed his qualifications, and said that in April 2009, at the time of his examination of Tomlinson’s body, he was on the Home Office list of accredited forensic pathologists. Patel has explained the different between a “Section 19″ (routine) postmortem, and a “Section 20″ (forensic) case, which takes place in suspicious death cases. 10.12am: The jury has entered – we’re about to start. 10.09am: Quick reminder: it has been widely reported that Dr Freddy Patel has twice been suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC) in recent months. A fortnight ago, he was suspended for four months over his botched postmortem which led to a delayed murder investigation into a serial killer. The case concerned his 2002 examination of the body of Sally White – the first victim of “Camden Ripper” Anthony Hardy. He found she had died of natural causes (a heart attack) despite blood staining her clothing, bedding and a wall at Hardy’s flat. The GMC also found Dr Patel had falsified his CV. The earlier suspension, in September last year, concerned professional failings in three other postmortem examinations . 9.58am: We are entering the third week of the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson. Today, Dr Freddy Patel, the pathologist who controversially concluded the newspaper seller died of a heart attack caused by coronary heart disease, takes the stand. The inquest is entering a new phase: medical evidence. So far the jury of 11 has mainly heard evidence about the circumstances surrounding Tomlinson’s death at the G20 protests. The focus has been his encounter with Metropolitan police officer Simon Harwood, who has accepted the father of nine posed no threat to him when he struck with a baton and pushed him to the ground. Here is a quick recap of the nine days we’ve had so far: Day 1: The Tomlinson inquest opened with detailed footage showing the newspaper seller’s last moments alive . The judge told jurors to anticipate “controversy” over divergent medical opinions and stressed that Harwood was not “on trial”. Day 2: The jury heard how Harwood was a van driver in the Met’s territorial support group (TSG) who strayed from his post without the knowledge of his supervisor. He had several confrontations with protesters and bystanders in the minutes leading up to his encounter with Tomlinson. Day 3: A New York investment fund manager said he believed Harwood was trying to make an example of Tomlinson when he pushed him to the ground. Chris La Jaunie, who shot crucial video footage of the incident, told jurors the newspaper seller was not being confrontational . Day 4: A police officer who witnessed Harwood pushing Tomlinson said she had been “shocked by the forcefulness” of the shove . She said she did not believe the newspaper seller posed a threat. Day 5: In the opening day of his evidence, Harwood said he “feared for his life” in the minutes leading up to his encounter with Tomlinson. The newspaper vendor’s relatives left the courtroom in tears when Harwood announced he wanted to “help the family at this difficult time”. Day 6: Harwood told the jury he was “amazed” when Tomlinson fell to the ground and was accused of lying under oath. He conceded the father of nine posed no threat to him and offered a partial apology “if it is the case” his actions led to Tomlinson’s death . Day 7: In his final day of evidence, the police officer said he believed Tomlinson had been “almost inviting a physical confrontation” . He also said he believed his training allowed him to baton a person who posed no threat. Harwood eventually appeared to retract much of his earlier testimony. Day 8: A City worker who saw Tomlinson collapse less than three minutes after his encounter with Harwood said he heard him tell a bystander: “The fuckers got me.” A medical student who went to Tomlinson’s aid told how she was pushed out of the way by police. Day 9: Paramedics and doctors gave evidence about the failed attempts to resuscitate Tomlinson in the hour following his collapse. Amid divergent accounts, one ambulance worker said his initial assessment was that the father of nine could have been dying of internal bleeding. Ian Tomlinson Police London Protest G20 Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 12, 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.