Excessive force used at protests after inexperienced officers were put on the frontline

Police used inappropriate force at the G20 protests after too many inexperienced officers were put on the frontline, according to a critical report by MPs.

The Commons Home Affair Select Committee said: "Never again must untrained officers be placed in the front line of public protests".

MPs were told by Commander Ben Broadhurst, who led the G20 policing operation, that 2,500 officers had only two days of public order training a year.

The cross-party group of MPs warned that confidence in the police had been severely damaged by the behaviour of some officers and called for a public debate on the use of force to be held.

They also criticised the widespread use of kettling, a tactic which pens protesters in behind large cordons for hours.

"The police must have reasonable grounds to believe that the protesters being contained are liable to cause disturbances elsewhere and innocent bystanders and non-violent protesters must be allowed to filter out.

"It is not acceptable for a blanket ban on movement to be imposed," the report said.

The death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson, who died after he was pushed to the ground by officers, is currently being investigated along with three other complaints of violence from protesters. The committee did not comment on the cases which are being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Committee chairmen Keith Vaz said: “The basic principle that the police must remember is that protesters are not criminals – the police's doctrine must remain focused on allowing protest to happen peacefully."

He added: "What's acceptable, what's within the police rule book - the use of distraction tactics, for example, slapping or hitting people - shocked the public.

"Therefore, they need to look again at these tactics and consult the public to decide whether or not such tactics can be used again."

MPs also criticised those officers who removed their identification numbers and urged service heads to use the strongest disciplinary action against them.

But the report emphasised that the policing of the protests, in which 35,000 people took part, had largely been a "remarkably successful operation".

"Aside from a few high-profile incidents, the policing of the G20 protests passed without drama," the MPs said.

The report comes ahead of a review of public order policing by Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary. O'Connor is set to warn senior officers that they must use "reasonable discretion" when dealing with large demonstrations.

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