Officer denies G20 protest assault on woman

LONDON (Reuters) - A police officer appeared in court on Monday to deny a charge of beating a woman during the anti-G20 protests in London earlier this year.

Sergeant Delroy Smellie, 47, from Clapham in southwest London, pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault by striking Nicola Fisher in the City of London on April 2 as the leaders of the G20 nations gathered for an economic summit.

Smellie denied the charge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London and was released on unconditional bail. A trial date was set for March 22 next year, the Press Association reported.

Violent confrontations between anti-capitalist demonstrators, environmental campaigners and riot officers broke out during the protests on April 1-2.

They led to hundreds of complaints about officers' behaviour, including accusations of brutality.

Newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson, 47, died after he was caught up in a demonstration outside the Bank of England on April 1 while a 23-year-old woman claimed she might have miscarried after being kicked and pushed by officers.

Fisher had been at a vigil for Tomlinson when the alleged incident took place at the Royal Exchange Square.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)