Ian Tomlinson Is Related To Jade Goody

IAN Tomlinson is now the subject of heated debate. He did not die in vain - his death is, very possibly, earning jobbing hacks more money than he earned in a lifetime as they fill space with opinions on how an innocent man was beaten up byu the polcie and then dropped dead not long after.

A smiling Amanda Platell sees it her job to tell Mail readers:

There is no way that I can defend the masked police officer caught on video striking a man on the back of his legs with a steel baton and then shoving him so hard that he fell to the ground. The man subsequently died of a heart attack.

Nothing to see here. Move on. Platell will not defend the brutal police who attacked a man who was do no-one any harm.

To be fair, the police were undeniably provoked during the G20 riots in London.

Riots? A broken window and a dead man? A riot. But nothing to see here, Mr Tomlinson. Move on…

But to be equally fair, some officers hit out at demonstrators with disproportionate violence.

Indeed, let’s be fair to the men in black who pushed an unarmed man to the gound (he had his hands in his pockets) and smashed him around the legs…

To compound matters, Scotland Yard chiefs initially concealed the facts surrounding the death of Ian Tomlinson, until the emergence of that deeply disturbing video that further tarnished the Yard’s already battered image.

The hiatus giving the police time to gather their thoughts and consider a plan to get away with it…

However…

However? What about there is “no way I can defend…”…

…there is a second aspect of this story, which, I fear, gives another unpleasant insight into modern Britain and it concerns the way Ian Tomlinson’s grieving family relished the media spotlight.

Is Platell going to aliken Ian Tomlinson to Jade Goody?

It was reported that his former wife, Julia, had been ‘torn apart’ by his death, though the couple had been estranged for some time.

That’s right. While we waited for the police to confess, we got to hear about Tomlinson. Did you know he liked a drink? Did you know he wore football replica tops in the City - Millwall top? Did you know he sold newspapers? Apprently, this all has some bearing on the fact he was beaten up by police.

As the mother of their nine children (five by her previous relationships), she added: ‘When I close my eyes, I can’t stop the video playing in my head. How Ian slams to the floor. How the officers don’t go to his help. It is disgusting.’

Did you know he fathered nine children? How big was his carbon footprint? He was killing us all. Did the police know?

This script was so word-perfect that I almost expected to see PR svengali Max Clifford (who offered his services to Jade Goody’s family for an estimated £200,000 fee) to be hovering in the background.

Ian Tomlinson linked to Jade Goody. It’s Tabloid Bingo.

What Mrs Tomlinson forgot to add, however, was that her husband was a homeless, chronic alcoholic who had not lived in the ‘family home’ for 13 years.

The swine. He liked a drink. He deserved to die. Thank god for our police for getting this scum off the streets and out of the Square Mile, that sacred haven for right-doing, probity, sobriety and money making.

And what about the fact that this man, apparently so cherished by this family, had for some time been forced to sleep in a series of hostels for the homeless or even on the streets?

Yeah, what about that? His death frees up a bed in a shelter for someone who deserves it, like a down on his luck money trader.

Of course, I am not suggesting that the family are not grieving, but the facts of Ian Tomlinson’s recent life must lead one to question the depth of their grief.

They must?

There is also something rather queasy about the instant appearance of campaign ribbons appealing for ‘Justice for Dad’ and the sight of lawyers rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a large compensation claim against the Metropolitan Police.

Making money out of a man’s death is sick. (That enough words yet, Ed? – Amanda?) Those brave coppers protect the State, sorry, serve the people, fearlessly with just their wits, big dogs, jackboots, batons and anonymity. If every lawyer defended the people against a brutal police force where would this country be? Answer: safer.

What an indictment of our tawdry world that 15 minutes of fame - and, if you’re lucky, a small fortune in compensation - can be achieved through the public airing of grief. But then I suspect that Jade Goody’s legacy will be with us for a long time.

Bingo!  Dad dies after being attacked by the police and the relatives get the blame.

In other Platell news:

I admire the way the lovely couple get on with their lives in the celebrity hothouse. How touching to hear Jamie [Oliver] say his family are like swans - when they mate, they mate for life.

Unlike that Tomlinson.

Has Jamie Oliver been beaten up by the police and then dropped dead not long after. No.

Exactly!

Anorak

Posted: 11th, April 2009 | In: Key Posts, Media Comments (16) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink