G20 protest officer killed man in ‘gratuitous act of aggression’

A police officer killed newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson in “a gratuitous act of aggression” while his “blood was up”, a court has heard.

Simon Harwood is accused of hitting Tomlinson with a baton and pushing him to the ground as he prepared to walk away from officers in the City of London in April 2009.

Within minutes the 47-year-old — who had been trying to walk home but found his usual route blocked due to the G20 protests that day — collapsed and later died.