Ian Tomlinson died when manhandled by a police officer as he walked in the vicinity of the G20 riots in 2009. Patel’s verdict that Tomlinson died as a result of heart disease – it was decided that he had died from internal bleeding – was later found to be incorrect.
Along with the Tomlinson verdict, Patel was found to be responsible for years of blunders and incorrect diagnoses – including failures on four additional post-mortems.
The MPTS (Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service) said in a report “Your rigid mind-set, illustrated by your inability to reflect on the case of Mr Tomlinson, and your unwarranted confidence in your own abilities, does not convince this panel that it would be appropriate to impose conditions…The panel considers that you have a deep-seated attitudinal problem.”
Patel had practised as a pathologist for 35 years and qualified at the University of Zambia in 1974.
An inquest in 2011 came to the verdict that Tomlinson. 47, had been ‘unlawfully killed’ and policeman Simon Harwood was charged with manslaughter. Harwood was recently found not guilty.
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