Police

Ian Tomlinson

From our UK edition

The appalling thing - apart from his death, of course - about the death of Ian Tomlinson after he was assaulted by the Metropolitan Police during the G20 protests last week is that if it weren't for the fact that Tomlinson collapsed from a fatal heart attack moments after he was attacked by the police, there'd be very little fuss about the incident. It would just be another example of heavy-handed police thuggery and, consequently, of no news value whatsoever. (incidentally, it also shows why it is important that the public be allowed to take photographs of the police.