acknowledged Michael, and a very good point well taken. My comment was perhaps unfortunately worded - perhaps I should have said that they did not have enough evidence to convince them at the relevant time to press charges - even though this appears to have been because of a technicality in the IPCC still having the files. Regardless of this though we are still talking about the opinion of the DPP - and they do not decide a person's guilt or innocence - merely whether or not to prosecute. And it still doesn't deal with the manslaughter charges - which is a much bigger issue that the one that people seem to have honed in here which is whether or not he was assaulted. PC Hayward could simply have placed his hand upon Mr Tomlinson and been guilty of common assualt - we're splitting hairs over the lesser charge now. [/i]