Family of G20 death man hail verdict as ‘justice’

Mr Tomlinson’s stepson Paul King said he and his relatives were now hoping that manslaughter charges would be brought against Pc Simon Harwood.

Standing alongside Mr Tomlinson’s widow Julia, 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.

“We hope the Director of Public Prosecutions will consider what the jury has said in their evidence and what has come out.

“We are looking forward to the next stages in the search for justice for Ian.”

He described the moment of hearing the verdict as bringing “closure” to the family and added: “It feels like something is being done by some sort of authority, and hopefully we’ll get the right answers when it goes back to criminal proceedings.”

Mr King conceded that the family had “a long way to go”, but said: “We have been let down for two years, and this is the first bit of hope we have had.”

As Mr Tomlinson’s family absorbed the potential implications of the jury’s verdict, Pc Simon Harwood disputed the jury’s verdict that he had deliberately and intentionally shoved Mr Tomlinson to the ground during the G20 protest in London in April 2009.

The officer apologised to Mr Tomlinson’s family in a statement released through his lawyer.

But Pc Harwood insisted he “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”.

Reynolds Dawson solicitors released a statement on his behalf.

It said: “Pc Harwood would like to repeat how sorry he is that Mr Tomlinson died.

“Although Pc Harwood’s contact with Mr Tomlinson lasted only a few seconds, it has been examined in great detail over several weeks of evidence.

“The mass of video and other evidence gathered by the IPCC now presents a picture very different from the one which Pc Harwood had on the day.

“In particular, he wishes that he had known then all that he now knows about Mr Tomlinson’s movements and fragile state of health.

“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.

“Pc Harwood gave evidence to the coroner and jury for three days. He did his best to answer every question he was asked, even when he was told by the coroner that he did not have to.

“Pc Harwood is not a medical expert, but he has tried to follow the evidence which the many doctors have given, and recognises that the jury will have considered all that evidence with the greatest possible care.”

Mr Tomlinson’s death became an international controversy after New York businessman Christopher La Jaunie handed footage he had taken of the police confrontation to the Guardian newspaper.

Pathologist Dr Freddy Patel’s initial findings that Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack was dismissed by a string of experts who said he died of internal bleeding

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

Closed circuit TV images, police helicopter footage and hand-held video recordings show Mr Tomlinson cutting a lonely figure as he staggered away from a police cordon after being hit with a baton.

Footage shows Mr Tomlinson gesturing to police and appearing angry after being sent tumbling to the ground.

He eventually collapsed flat out and muttered, “they got me,” before dying minutes later.

Colleagues were shocked by Pc Harwood’s actions.

Pc Kerry Smith told the inquest: “He (Mr Tomlinson) sat up and looked towards us and said, ‘I just wanted to go home’.”

Mr Tomlinson’s widow Julia also spoke of the effects of her husband’s death and said: “I remember feeling he was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

PC apologised to relatives

Pc Simon Harwood had apologised to relatives of Ian Tomlinson during the three days he appeared at the hearing in central London for “any way” he may have been responsible for the death.

But lawyer Matthew Ryder QC, who represented Mr Tomlinson’s family, had said he had told “half truths” and “deliberately painted a false picture of Mr Tomlinson”.

During the proceedings he told Pc Harwood, who lives in Surrey, “I am going to suggest to you that you are not here to help Mr Tomlinson’s family but to help yourself”.

An initial investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service had found that no criminal action would be taken in response to Mr Tomlinson’s death, but it was made clear that decision would be open to review as a result of the inquest verdict.