28 April 2011

Today, the Coroner at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson will sum up the case in front of a jury.

The jury will be told there is no more evidence to be heard and then given a summary of all the evidence about the police officer Simon Harwood and the medical evidence.

The Coroner will then give the jury directions on the law and explain to them the verdicts that have been left to them to return - the jury will then be sent out to consider.

Estimate of when the verdict will be returned

It is not possible to give a precise time for when the verdict will be returned as it depends on the length of the summing up and how long the jury take to deliberate.

However, there is a chance it could be delivered as early as this afternoon and if not it may come on the next day the court sits, on Tuesday 3rd of May or shortly after.

Inquest Day 6 & 7: 4th & 5th April 2011: Summary points

Over these two days the inquest has heard evidence from PC Simon Harwood, the officer who pushed Ian to the ground. We will feed back on this as soon as possible, but in the meantime it's worth checking out Paul Lewis' blog on The Guardian for detailed coverage:

Monday 4th April, Ian Tomlinson Inquest Live Blog

Tuesday 5th April, Ian Tomlinson Inquest Live Blog

Inquest Day 5: 1st April 2011*: Summary points

* Before we blog about the inquest today, it’s important to us to say rest in peace to Ian. Today was the 2nd anniversary of Ian’s death. Ian’s family laid flowers in the morning at the spot where he died and Rev. Phil Summers kindly said a few words.

At the inquest today, witnesses, either giving evidence in person or via their statements being read out, included:

• Guiseppe de Ceccio, who witnessed PC Harwood push Ian from a nearby office window. He made two statements about the incident, one described a “pretty aggressive push” and the other described how Ian was pushed “pretty harshly”.

• PC Kerry Smith, who saw PC Harwood push Ian. In a statement she made after the incident she said “I was shocked by the forcefulness of the push on Mr Tomlinson”.

• PC Nicholas Jackson, who was part of the police cordon when Ian was pushed and witnessed the incident. Although he saw Ian get pushed, he was “too busy” looking at protesters to recall whether Ian spoke afterwards.

• PC Jonathan Bish, a dog-handler who was on the police cordon when Ian was pushed. He explained how dog-handlers go to the front in policing situations as there is a risk to anyone in front of a dog. He described how PC Harwood moved in front of him and this caused his dog to slip its collar.

• PC Steven Discombe, who saw PC Harwood strike Ian with a baton and described how this action was delivered in “perfect training stance”.

Inquest Day 4: 31st March 2011: Summary points

Witnesses, either giving evidence in person or via their statements being read out, included:

• PC Andrew Hayes, a vehicle driver for the Territorial Support Group (TSG), who witnessed PC Harwood attempt to arrest a protester writing on a police vehicle carrier by dragging him along a street. He said if he had been making the arrest, he could have put the protester in the vehicle carrier. He acknowledged that PC Harwood’s actions forced the crowd of people in the vicinity up the road with a police cordon behind.

• PC Alexander Jackaman, a vehicle driver for the TSG.

• Christopher La Jaunie, the US business man whose video footage of Ian being pushed by PC Harwood was the first in the public domain. He described Ian as not engaged with the protest and determined to get somewhere by negotiating with the police to get through. He said Ian was not confrontational at all and was “violently shoved”. He thought Ian had been made an example of and thought the force used was “excessive”.

• Anthony Fallshaw, a cameraman who was pulled to the ground by PC Harwood, shortly before Harwood’s contact with Ian. He felt himself “pulled and spun backwards to the ground”. He did not believe he had been impeding any officers from carrying out their duty.

• Chief Superintendent Alexander Robertson, Head of Specialist Support Directorate, which has responsibility for a number of areas including use of police dogs. He described how the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) guide ‘Keeping the Peace’ is the backbone and reference tool to all police.

• Alan Edwards, who helped Ian up after PC Harwood pushed him. He spoke of his shock at seeing Ian going through the air when pushed and how the only time he had seen something similar was during a car accident. He described how after the incident "the police didn't do a thing" for Ian.