G20 officer apologises to family of man who died

Pc Simon Harwood faced suggestions he told “half truths” and “deliberately painted a false picture of Mr Tomlinson” as he gave evidence at the inquest into the newspaper seller’s death.

The officer admitted Mr Tomlinson was no threat to him or his colleagues before he hit him with a baton and pushed him.

As relatives of Mr Tomlinson looked on, Pc Harwood said: “If it is the case that in any way I have caused Mr Tomlinson’s death, I am very sorry.”

He denied he had used “unreasonable, unnecessary and excessive force”.

When asked whether Mr Tomlinson had been assessed as a being a threat, the officer replied: “No.”

He said he was “amazed” his “poor push” caused the 47-year-old to plunge to the pavement.

The officer said he first saw Mr Tomlinson talking to two police dog handlers and an officer near a bike shed on the Royal Exchange.

“I then remember Mr Tomlinson moving in front of me from my right to my left as though he was walking or encroaching into the police line,” he said.

Pc Harwood said he struck Mr Tomlinson because he was ignoring other officers’ requests for him to move.

“I did not get any immediate reaction from Mr Tomlinson... I then, as a reaction, pushed him in the top part of his right shoulder.”

Mr Tomlinson was pushed away from the police line by an officer and was also seen being bitten by a police dog, the officer added.

Pc Harwood said he had palmed off several protesters earlier and pushed a cameraman over as demonstrations got “out of hand”. He said he had been “frightened and confused” in the tense atmosphere before Mr Tomlinson’s death.

Footage showed Mr Tomlinson turning away from a line of officers with his hands in his pockets before he was shoved in the back. He was helped to his feet but collapsed and died about 100 yards away shortly afterwards.

Pc Harwood later accepted he had “got things wrong” in a statement he made on April 16 2009 about confrontations with protesters minutes before he encountered Mr Tomlinson.

Claims that he fell to the floor, lost a baton, received a blow to the head and was struck by a missile were all wrong, jurors heard.

The inquest continues today.