PC Simon Harwood faces trial over Tomlinson death

Simon Harwood, the Metropolitan Police officer accused of killing Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in the City of London in 2009, has this morning been sent for trial for manslaughter at the Old Bailey.

The 44-year-old Pc, who was captured on video shoving newspaper vendor Tomlinson to the ground, has been unconditionally bailed until October 17 when he will attend a plea and case management hearing, and is expected to face a trial early next year.

Harwood arrived at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court with his right arm in a sling, and spoke only to confirm his name, age and address. He was told by District Judge Howard Riddle: "Your case is sent for trial at the Central Criminal Court." Tomlinson's widow Julia was in the public gallery of the court.

The decision to charge Harwood came after an inquest into Tomlinson's death found last month that the 47-year-old had been unlawfully killed by Harwood. The Crown Prosecution Service, which had previously said it would not charge the Pc, then reversed its original decision.

Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions who had initially announced in July 2010 that there was not enough medical evidence to sustain a prosecution against Harwood, released a statement on May 24 saying that a charge would indeed be made.

"Taking the evidence as it now stands, we have concluded that, even with those remaining difficulties, there is now sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of successfully prosecuting Pc Simon Harwood for the manslaughter of Mr Tomlinson.

"The difficulties that would now confront any prosecution have changed in nature and scale from last year when a decision was taken not to prosecute, although it is clear that real difficulties remain," Starmer's statement on the CPS website read.

Tomlinson, a 47-year-old homeless Evening Standard vendor, died during a day of protests that took place against the backdrop of the financial crisis and saw thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of the capital.

The police's role on the day has been criticised for manifold reasons - their kettling of protesters was ruled illegal this April, and the officer in charge of the operation was forced to apologise to a House of Commons select committee after saying that undercover officers hadn't been used on the day when in fact they had.

The death of Tomlinson, which was caught on video by New York businessman Christopher La Jaunie and broadcast on the Guardian website, caused public outrage. It showed Tomlinson, walking away from police lines, being sent flying to the ground. He died shortly after from an abdominal haemorrhage. ·