Organisers of a pro-hunting protest outside Parliament that turned violent have attacked a report into its policing for making "bagging truncheons" one of its key recommendations.
The report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said riot officers should hand over batons used during confrontations so they could be stored as evidence.
But the Countryside Alliance said the recommendation showed the IPCC had not dealt with the "strategic failures" by the Met Police during the protest two years ago.
Around 1,300 police officers were brought in to Parliament Square on September 15, 2004, when at least 20,000 people descended on Westminster to protest against the proposed ban on hunting with dogs.
It was more than double the number expected by the Met and when a group of protesters tried to break through a police cordon there were violent exchanges between riot officers and demonstrators.
Missiles were thrown at police and barriers pulled down by protesters while officers retaliated with batons.
A number of demonstrators were left with serious head injuries and one ended up with 12 stitches to the head.
The IPCC said it investigated complaints from 54 people who claimed to be injured by police officers and also from 119 people who were not hurt. The Met claimed more than 60 of its officers were injured during the violence.
Criminal charges were brought against seven Met officers following an investigation by the IPCC, but all were either found not guilty or had their cases dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Two officers also faced an internal disciplinary tribunal but in both cases no action was taken after the charges against them were found "not proven".
