Met police chiefs ordered to justify G20 tactics
The Metropolitan Police has been ordered to review the crowd-control tactic known as the “kettle”, which was used to pen in 5,000 people protesting over the G20 summit in London last week.
The Times has learnt that senior Scotland Yard officers who led Operation Glencoe, the plan to protect the summit and prevent disorder, have been summoned to explain their tactics to members of the force’s watchdog body.
Commander Bob Broadhurst and his team will also be questioned at a closed meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) about the death of Ian Tomlinson, who was hit by a riot police officer minutes before he died from a heart attack. Mr Broadhurst, who gave stark warnings of violence before the protests, will also face questions about whether the language he and fellow commanders used served to stoke up confrontation.
The MPA meeting will take place on April 23, amid mounting public concern and complaints about an aggressive police approach to the demonstrations. The officers will also have to appear at a public session of the police authority the following week.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the circumstances of Mr Tomlinson’s death, said yesterday that it had received 120 complaints about the policing of the G20 protests in the City of London. Many complainants were responding to the footage of the apparent assault on Mr Tomlinson, but a significant number were people who were trapped inside the “kettle” — the police cordon thrown around the Bank of England — for several hours and not allowed to leave.
Kit Malthouse, deputy chairman of the police authority, said: “We have asked the Met for a thorough briefing session. We want to review and understand why they employed those tactics.” Mr Malthouse, who is also Deputy Mayor with responsibility for policing, said that members would require a full explanation of the intelligence material that convinced the police that anarchist groups were planning violence in the City. “We need to understand the intelligence picture and decide whether the police response on the day was proportionate,” he said.
