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The officer seen on video violently pushing Ian Tomlinson to the ground moments before he had a heart attack and died has come forward to help with the criminal investigation into the incident.

Several Metropolitan Police officers contacted Scotland Yard yesterdayand were put in touch with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which has taken over the inquiry. An appeal on the force’s intranet called for officers to come forward if they could help the inquiry.

A Met spokesman said last night that the officer identified himself to his team leader as “being potentially involved in the incident shown on the video footage”. The spokesman said: “A total of four officers, inclusive of this officer, have now come forward with potentially relevant information in relation to the investigation.” There has been no suggestion that any officers have yet been suspended.

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The police have an obvious response: it was an isolated incident. He was disobeying orders

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A spokeswoman for the IPCC said: “The IPCC can confirm that we now have the details of the Metropolitan Police officer who we believe appears in the footage we recovered last night, and who appears to make contact with Ian Tomlinson.” Separate footage broadcast by Channel 4 news appeared to show the policeman concerned walking away immediately afterwards and talking to a more senior officer.

The IPCC reclassified the inquiry as a criminal investigation after viewing video footage of the incident, meaning that officers involved could be charged with manslaughter. The IPCC has also ordered a second post-mortem examination. The first, carried out on Friday, recorded that Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack and that there were no signs of cuts or bruises to his head or shoulders.

The growing controversy over Mr Tomlinson’s death is the first real crisis for the Met since Sir Paul Stephenson became commissioner at the beginning of the year. He issued a statement yesterday saying that he and his colleagues fully supported the IPCC investigation. He said: “The images that have now been released raise obvious concerns and it is absolutely right and proper that there is a full investigation into this matter, which the Met will fully support.” However, some questioned why Sir Paul did not announce that officers who appeared to have assaulted Mr Tomlinson, once identified, would be suspended immediately.

A senior police source said: “The commissioner needs to be seen to take control and put his own mark on this so people don’t think they can get away with this sort of thing.” Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, called for the officers involved in the incident to be removed from public order policing duties pending the outcome of the inquiry.

Once Mr Tomlinson’s death was referred to the IPCC it began working with City of London Police to track down witnesses or CCTV images to establish what happened. It was only yesterday, after several meetings, that the IPCC announced that it would no longer ask City of London Police to conduct inquiries on its behalf.

The family of Mr Tomlinson wept and wore blue ribbons as a tribute to the Millwall Football Club fanatic as their solicitor renewed their appeal for information yesterday. Flanked by Mr Tomlinson’s widow, Julia, daughter Katie, 18, and son Paul, 26, Jules Carey, their lawyer, said they were still coming to terms with “their tragic loss”. He said at the family’s East London home: “The family would like to thank the media for bringing crucial evidence about Ian’s death to light.”

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