Clik here to view.
Attention now shifts to the director of public prosecutions to determine if PC Harwood should face a manslaughter charge (PC who struck Tomlinson could face trial, 4 May). The medical evidence that Tomlinson died from his injuries is clear, and the pathologist who suggested natural causes could not be more discredited. The video evidence of the assault is incontrovertible. The key question, then, is will a trial be in the public interest? I suggest there are few cases more in the public interest today than this. As Duncan Campbell surmises (The people defer no more, 4 May), the relationship between public and police has changed in the years since Blair Peach's death. We now respect police for what they do, not who they are. If anyone other than a policeman had wielded that baton, the police would already have arrested, and the CPS tried, that person.
Should PC Harwood be tried and convicted of manslaughter, this would encourage other officers to question the training and instructions they are given that put the lives of members of the public at risk, and would be a constant reminder for them to control their own actions. Should he not be tried, the relationship between the police and the law-abiding section of the public will deteriorate, which clearly would not be in the public interest.
Bernie Doeser
Helston, Cornwall
• Two questions besides those already aired (Report, 4 May) need to be answered. First, why did the original coroner appoint Dr Freddy Patel to carry out the postmortem when questions about his competence and independence had been raised at his earlier appearances before the General Medical Council? Second, is it usual practice in cases involving possible police misconduct for several senior police officers to attend the victim's post-mortem and prompt the pathologist, as Dr Patel testified at the inquest on Ian Tomlinson?
Jasper Woodcock
London
• It is quite simple. In the view of the police Territorial Support Group, people who protest on social issues – be it against the war in Iraq, student fees or cuts in the NHS – are basically lefty hippies who deserve a good kicking, while groups such as the English Defence League or slightly hot-headed football supporters can be handled with a light touch. It has always been the same since the days of the unlamented Special Patrol Group.
Kevin Cully
Constantine, Cornwall
• While the DPP revisits the decision not to prosecute PC Harwood for his actions leading to the unlawful death of Ian Tomlinson, is anyone in the Met considering disciplinary action for his colleagues who stood there and watched and did not arrest Harwood for assault?
Maria Brenton
London
