New G20 video reveals police attack on protester YouTube

Video: New G20 attack (40 secs)

A FRESH investigation into police conduct during the G20 protests has been launched after video footage appeared to show an officer striking a female protester.

Footage which appeared on YouTube showed an officer swiping at the woman with his hand before apparently hitting her across the legs with a baton (40 seconds in).

Scotland Yard said it was in the process of referring evidence to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which launched an inquiry last week into the death of Ian Tomlinson.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the matter raised "immediate concerns". He said: "Once we were notified of this footage by a media agency ... we began to take steps to identify this officer and are currently in the process of referring the incident to the IPCC.

"Every officer is accountable under law, and fully aware of the scrutiny that their actions can be held open to. The decision to use force is made by the individual police officer, and they must account for that."

Earlier the IPCC said it remained hopeful that fresh CCTV footage would help piece together Tomlinson's final moments around the fringes of angry demonstrations outside the Bank of England.

Tomlinson, 47, collapsed and died from a heart attack after clashing with police officers at least once as he walked home across the City.

A Metropolitan Police constable caught on camera hitting Tomlinson with a baton and pushing him to the ground has been suspended from duty.

A spokeswoman for the IPCC said there are a number of public and private CCTV cameras in the streets around where Tomlinson died. She said an earlier statement by the watchdog's chairman Nick Hardwick that "there is no CCTV footage" may not be accurate as investigators continue to trawl through hours of evidence.

Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the images of Tomlinson being struck "raised obvious concerns" as questions arose over the police tactic of "kettling" demonstrators - penning them in - to prevent them moving freely.