The Unlawful Killing Of Ian Tomlinson

It will be interesting to see whether the Crown Prosecution Service elects to bring manslaughter charges against Simon Harwood, the obviously feral, obviously out of control police officer who beat Ian Tomlinson, who died shortly afterwards. Like Mark Andrews, the Scotch Klingon who didn't cause Pamela Somerville's injuries despite dragging her across a floor, Harwood would seem to be the sort of policeman you wouldn't want as a guest in your home, never mind protecting your property.

My guess is that they will not go down that route, but will instead opt for a Jean Charles with all the trimmings, yet another half-baked prosecution of the police service for breaching our laws on health and safety. Such a prosecution would be an exemplary exercise in ass-covering. As far as the police are concerned, the impact of a conviction upon to day to day operational matters would be nil to low. The CPS would be able to say that it had taken heed of the coroner's verdict. Honour would thus be satisfied, and it's off to the Wig and Pen for trebles all round.

There is, of course, a school of thought that says that unless Simon Harwood is prosecuted for aggravated GBH at the very least, then justice will not only not be done but will be seen not to be being done. In this instance, the law must take its course.