Reveller set to sue Met after being punched by riot officer

Chris Leonard, 26, can be seen with blood running from his mouth after he was allegedly punched repeatedly in the face during scuffles at Liverpool Street station.

Scotland Yard's Directorate of Professional Standards is now set to investigate the conduct of PC James Hendrick of the Territorial Support Group.

The photographs appear to show the officer lunging at Mr Leonard's nose and grabbing his throat.

Mr Leonard, a land surveyor from London, claims he had done nothing wrong when PC Hendrick suddenly punched him up to four times and then knelt on his back before he was arrested and held in a cell for 14 hours. He is now preparing an official complaint.

Mr Leonard said: "I only noticed him seconds before he hit me. I just had time to realise, Oh god, he's coming for me.' I backed away as far as I could, but I couldn't get away from him.

"I remember saying, What the hell are you doing?' as I saw him draw his fist back. He hit me three or four times in the mouth and nose in quick succession.

"I was left disorientated but could hear people around me shouting and screaming at him.

"The next thing I knew he had dragged me out of the crowd. He threw me to the ground and as he came down on top of me he put his knees in my ribs. He must have weighed about 19st and it was agony."

Mr Leonard was one of 1,500 revellers packed into the station concourse for the Last Orders On The Tube party on 31 May last year, the eve of the public transport alcohol ban.

PC Hendrick's statement accused Mr Leonard of hitting him and he was later charged with violent disorder and assaulting an officer.

He faced a trial and a possible jail term until a judge cleared him at Southwark Crown Court last week.

The case was dropped after prosecutors viewed the Press photographs and police videos of the incident and decided there was no case to answer.

Mr Leonard said CCTV evidence that would have cleared him earlier was not handed over by the British Transport Police.

He plans to take his case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and is also considering suing the Met over the alleged assault and for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

"My life was on hold for 15 months," he said. "The stress and worry of knowing you could go to jail for a crime you haven't committed is unbelievable.

"It is frightening that tens of thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money can be spent on a case built on nothing."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: "Now we're aware of these allegations the Directorate of Professional Standards will look into them due to the seriousness of the allegations being made against our staff."

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "We've been made aware of the issue and we're looking into it as a matter of urgency."

The Territorial Support Group was criticised over its handling of violent skirmishes with G20 protestors in the City of London on April 1-2.

One of the specialist unit's officers is currently suspended after footage emerged of the moment bystander Mr Tomlinson, 47, was hit with a baton and shoved to the ground shortly before he died.

Crown Prosecution Service lawyers were handed the case file last week and will decide whether to bring a manslaughter charge against the officer.