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Andrew Mitchell should focus on police, not the press Andrew Mitchell should focus on police, not the press
(6 months later)
Andrew Mitchell got stitched up. He was forced to resign as chief whip after newspapers printed what appears to be a wildly inaccurate story about how he had called police officers "plebs". Mitchell is now suing one of those newspapers, the Sun, for libel: he says it pursued a "campaign of vilification" against him.Andrew Mitchell got stitched up. He was forced to resign as chief whip after newspapers printed what appears to be a wildly inaccurate story about how he had called police officers "plebs". Mitchell is now suing one of those newspapers, the Sun, for libel: he says it pursued a "campaign of vilification" against him.
If I were in Mitchell's shoes, perhaps I would feel an overwhelming urge to do the same, and would consider it my duty to stand up to a publication that was so ready, on the basis of unreliable evidence and without crediting my protestations of innocence, to condemn me as guilty.If I were in Mitchell's shoes, perhaps I would feel an overwhelming urge to do the same, and would consider it my duty to stand up to a publication that was so ready, on the basis of unreliable evidence and without crediting my protestations of innocence, to condemn me as guilty.
But who provided the unreliable evidence? Who came up with the story? It looks as though the unfortunate answer to this question may be that a number of police officers did so. And since I am lucky enough not to have been personally involved in this affair, and not to have had my career wrecked by it, I cannot help wishing that Mitchell had decided to concentrate on this aspect of his downfall. The Leveson inquiry has wrestled with the vexed question of how to stop the press from persecuting innocent people. Whether or not a satisfactory answer emerges, one cannot say the topic has been neglected.But who provided the unreliable evidence? Who came up with the story? It looks as though the unfortunate answer to this question may be that a number of police officers did so. And since I am lucky enough not to have been personally involved in this affair, and not to have had my career wrecked by it, I cannot help wishing that Mitchell had decided to concentrate on this aspect of his downfall. The Leveson inquiry has wrestled with the vexed question of how to stop the press from persecuting innocent people. Whether or not a satisfactory answer emerges, one cannot say the topic has been neglected.
Much less attention has been focused on what some police officers are capable of doing when they decide that a suspect is guilty, and require the evidence to prove this. I confess that this is a subject to which I turn with reluctance. In my youth, I was taught to regard police officers as figures of stern and incorruptible probity, to whom one could always turn for help. Nor do I wish to asperse the reputation of the many officers who would never dream of giving false evidence to a court, or even to a newspaper.Much less attention has been focused on what some police officers are capable of doing when they decide that a suspect is guilty, and require the evidence to prove this. I confess that this is a subject to which I turn with reluctance. In my youth, I was taught to regard police officers as figures of stern and incorruptible probity, to whom one could always turn for help. Nor do I wish to asperse the reputation of the many officers who would never dream of giving false evidence to a court, or even to a newspaper.
But as recent revelations about the Hillsborough cover-up have reminded us, the police ought not to be treated as if they are always a fount of pure and unvarnished truth. They too are open to the temptation to deviate, for what may seem like the best of motives, from the facts of the case. If you have a known drug dealer on your patch, and you have not quite managed to assemble the evidence needed to take him to court, I can imagine how you might conceive it to be in the public interest to embellish what you have got in order to put this dreadful character behind bars. You may begin with what seems like a minor lie, a pardonable exaggeration, and find that when you are required to verify this not quite truthful assertion you entangle yourself in an elaborate web of deceit.But as recent revelations about the Hillsborough cover-up have reminded us, the police ought not to be treated as if they are always a fount of pure and unvarnished truth. They too are open to the temptation to deviate, for what may seem like the best of motives, from the facts of the case. If you have a known drug dealer on your patch, and you have not quite managed to assemble the evidence needed to take him to court, I can imagine how you might conceive it to be in the public interest to embellish what you have got in order to put this dreadful character behind bars. You may begin with what seems like a minor lie, a pardonable exaggeration, and find that when you are required to verify this not quite truthful assertion you entangle yourself in an elaborate web of deceit.
Every profession, when seen from the inside, probably involves the taking of shortcuts that would be hard to justify if they became public. The more introverted a profession, the greater the danger that it will start to behave in unacceptable ways, and even to regard these as natural. The election of police and crime commissioners was meant to help open up policing and make it more responsive to public concerns. But this is a task that ought to interest politicians of every hue.Every profession, when seen from the inside, probably involves the taking of shortcuts that would be hard to justify if they became public. The more introverted a profession, the greater the danger that it will start to behave in unacceptable ways, and even to regard these as natural. The election of police and crime commissioners was meant to help open up policing and make it more responsive to public concerns. But this is a task that ought to interest politicians of every hue.
Chris Mullin, the admirable former Labour MP, was among those who leaped to Mitchell's defence during the "plebgate" affair, and accused the Police Federation of orchestrating the "mob" that was trying to force the chief whip's resignation. A few days later, the mob was victorious: Mitchell stepped down. Channel 4's Dispatches programme has since produced evidence that suggests Mitchell was the victim of a grotesque injustice. A minister may have been forced to resign on the basis of a completely inaccurate account of his behaviour. This sort of thing quite often happens to people who have less opportunity than Mitchell to fight back. The police maintain that they have got, say, the right pub bombers, and persuade the courts that this is so. It seems to me that Mitchell's energies would be much better applied to trying to deal with this problem, than to suing the tabloid press.Chris Mullin, the admirable former Labour MP, was among those who leaped to Mitchell's defence during the "plebgate" affair, and accused the Police Federation of orchestrating the "mob" that was trying to force the chief whip's resignation. A few days later, the mob was victorious: Mitchell stepped down. Channel 4's Dispatches programme has since produced evidence that suggests Mitchell was the victim of a grotesque injustice. A minister may have been forced to resign on the basis of a completely inaccurate account of his behaviour. This sort of thing quite often happens to people who have less opportunity than Mitchell to fight back. The police maintain that they have got, say, the right pub bombers, and persuade the courts that this is so. It seems to me that Mitchell's energies would be much better applied to trying to deal with this problem, than to suing the tabloid press.
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