G20 police 'told to remain calm'

Police say they faced one of their most complex operations ever

Officers policing the G20 protests in London were told to remain "calm and restrained", says a Met police report.

Supervisors also had to ensure officers displayed ID numbers, says the report being presented to a Metropolitan Police Authority meeting later.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into more than 80 allegations that police used excessive force at this month's demonstrations.

Ian Tomlinson, 47, died minutes after he was pushed over by an officer.

A police officer has been suspended and interviewed under caution on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of the newspaper vendor.

An initial post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Tomlinson had died from coronary artery disease, but a second examination, by a different pathologist, concluded abdominal bleeding had been the cause of death.

The results of a third post-mortem, requested by the interviewed police officer's legal team, have not been released.

'Professional'

Temporary Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison's report says that in the run-up to the G20 meeting, the media had "exaggerated" the potential for violent disorder.

Consequently, it says, police were briefed on the correct intelligence picture. They were reminded to remain "calm, restrained" and to react "professionally" to events.

Supervisors were meant to ensure that officers displayed identification numbers on their uniforms, but video footage of the demonstrations has indicated that some did not show them.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has criticised officers who failed to display their ID numbers.

But he said that policing the G20 was "one of the most complex policing operations that's ever been undertaken - protecting multiple heads of state".

Home Office minister Lord West has said that thousands of officers acted "absolutely professionally" during the protests.

But he said: "This does not excuse acts that are criminal and there are now investigations for those particulars."

The report will also reveal problems during the protests with the police radio communications system, Airwave.

Demand on radio channels was "unprecedented" and there was an "issue" with radio batteries because police were deployed for so long, the report says.