Just back from the gym where a silent, wall-mounted TV showed me the face of Met Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, presumably putting the best possible spin on this bit of news:
Untrained officers must never again be put in the frontline of policing public protests, according to a highly critical MPs' report on the G20 protests published today. The conclusion from the Commons home affairs select committee inquiry into the G20 protests of April 1 follows admissions from senior Metropolitan police officers that some inexperienced officers, who were clearly quite scared, used "inappropriate force".
Their inquiry also calls for the police to seriously consider whether they can continue with the use of tactics such as kettling – containing protesters behind cordons for a sustained period of time – and the controlled use of force against those who appear hostile without first holding a public debate over the future of policing public protests.
Full report from the Guardian.
