Why the Tory hesitation over Ian Tomlinson’s death?
Three cheers for David Howarth, the LibDem justice spokesman, for demanding a criminal inquiry into Ian Tomlinson’s death following the release of footage by The Guardian.
The short clip clearly shows Mr. Tomlinson being aggressively pushed to the ground by a police officer. Of course, it is impossible to understand the possible rationale or motivation for the riot police’s behaviour (that’s why we need an inquiry, right?).
But where are the Tories on this issue?
If Her Majesty’s Opposition really are “liberal” Conservatives as their leader insists, you’d expect them to be all over this issue like a rash.
No doubt, Chris Grayling and Dominic Grieve will decide what they think about the matter soon – but the fact that the LibDems have beaten them to the punch again does call into question whether the Tories will ever discover a liberal-inclined soul.
UPDATE: As of 6pm on Wenesday April 8th (more than twelve hours sicne the story started dominating the headlines), the Conervative Party’s latest news section on their website STILL doesn’t include a statement on the death of Ian Tomlinson.
Tags: Grayling, Grieve, Howarth, Tomlinson