Surrey Police have been dragged into the investigation into the death of Evening Standard seller Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests, after it was alleged the officer at the centre of the inquiry was able to join the force after a vetting blunder years before.

The officer involved had already left a previous stint with the Metropolitan Police after a serious disciplinary issue against him, relating to an off-duty road rage row, the Evening Standard has reported.

But he was then able to rejoin the Met as a civilian, the paper has claimed.

He then joined Surrey Police as a constable before transferring to the Met Police for a second time.

Mr Tomlinson, 47, died after allegedly being hit and pushed over by a Met Police officer in April, at the protests in central London.

The Met Police were unavailable for comment but Surrey Police confirmed it was co-operating with the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into the death.

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