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Sorry, Andrew Mitchell. I was too ready to believe the lies Sorry, Andrew Mitchell. I was too ready to believe the lies
(about 14 hours later)
It's a bit late, but nonetheless: an apology. A year ago, I joined in the castigation of Andrew Mitchell, then chief whip, who had just, it was authoritatively confirmed, lost his temper with some police officers, sworn at them and, fatally for his prospects, used the word "plebs".It's a bit late, but nonetheless: an apology. A year ago, I joined in the castigation of Andrew Mitchell, then chief whip, who had just, it was authoritatively confirmed, lost his temper with some police officers, sworn at them and, fatally for his prospects, used the word "plebs".
There can be little doubt that had Mitchell, like Boris Johnson in the London mayoral chamber, contented himself with the more statesmanlike "bollocks", he would still be in office. But the archaic "pleb", a word that would be marvelled at and exhaustively mined for damning political implications, sealed Mitchell's fate. John Prescott, whose own career survived an attack on a protester, as well as protracted sexual misconduct at work, was especially pained by the language: "This incident is typical of this government's out-of-touch and stuck-up attitude towards working people."There can be little doubt that had Mitchell, like Boris Johnson in the London mayoral chamber, contented himself with the more statesmanlike "bollocks", he would still be in office. But the archaic "pleb", a word that would be marvelled at and exhaustively mined for damning political implications, sealed Mitchell's fate. John Prescott, whose own career survived an attack on a protester, as well as protracted sexual misconduct at work, was especially pained by the language: "This incident is typical of this government's out-of-touch and stuck-up attitude towards working people."
Mitchell consistently denied saying pleb, as alleged in a leaked police log, but offered an apology for saying: "I thought you lot were supposed to fucking help us." It fell short. Officers posed in "PC Pleb" T-shirts. The chairman of the Police Federation said it was "hard to fathom how someone who holds the police in such contempt could be allowed to hold a public office".Mitchell consistently denied saying pleb, as alleged in a leaked police log, but offered an apology for saying: "I thought you lot were supposed to fucking help us." It fell short. Officers posed in "PC Pleb" T-shirts. The chairman of the Police Federation said it was "hard to fathom how someone who holds the police in such contempt could be allowed to hold a public office".
The following days were a feast of etymology. "Who says pleb nowadays?" asked the BBC website (noting that Andrew Mitchell had "flatly denied" saying it). A dictionary editor confirmed, it is "certainly not OK to use it of someone else".The following days were a feast of etymology. "Who says pleb nowadays?" asked the BBC website (noting that Andrew Mitchell had "flatly denied" saying it). A dictionary editor confirmed, it is "certainly not OK to use it of someone else".
More scholarly insights came from Mary Beard in her TLS column, A Don's Life. "This post is not an attempt to give a lifeline to Andrew Mitchell," she established, before musing on the term's changing meaning in the class system of the Roman republic. "The irony [then] is that most of the mega-rich, pushy and snobby Roman politicians of the first century BC were, in formal terms, plebeians."More scholarly insights came from Mary Beard in her TLS column, A Don's Life. "This post is not an attempt to give a lifeline to Andrew Mitchell," she established, before musing on the term's changing meaning in the class system of the Roman republic. "The irony [then] is that most of the mega-rich, pushy and snobby Roman politicians of the first century BC were, in formal terms, plebeians."
After a few more weeks of being doorstepped, Mitchell resigned, saying the "damaging publicity" meant he could no longer do his job. It cannot have helped that gleeful, anti-toff wiggings were outdone by unkind "Thrasher" Mitchell vignettes on his own side. The Guardian's Nicholas Watt said: "There is no shortage of Tory MPs lapping up every moment of his battle with the police." His previous as a "firm disciplinarian" at public school was endlessly advertised, confirming, once again, the wisdom of never allowing past convictions to be shared with a jury.After a few more weeks of being doorstepped, Mitchell resigned, saying the "damaging publicity" meant he could no longer do his job. It cannot have helped that gleeful, anti-toff wiggings were outdone by unkind "Thrasher" Mitchell vignettes on his own side. The Guardian's Nicholas Watt said: "There is no shortage of Tory MPs lapping up every moment of his battle with the police." His previous as a "firm disciplinarian" at public school was endlessly advertised, confirming, once again, the wisdom of never allowing past convictions to be shared with a jury.
So who says pleb nowadays? Probably nobody, it turns out; not even Andrew Mitchell.So who says pleb nowadays? Probably nobody, it turns out; not even Andrew Mitchell.
Starting last December, when Michael Crick's chastening Dispatches investigation exposed what looked like orchestrated character assassination, it has become more and more obvious that those of us who decided to get sententious about Mitchell's alleged misconduct have participated, however inadvertently, in a witch-hunt. The extent to which we should feel bad depends, in part, on how strongly you condemn excessive trust in senior police and politicians. Put it this way: it will never happen again.Starting last December, when Michael Crick's chastening Dispatches investigation exposed what looked like orchestrated character assassination, it has become more and more obvious that those of us who decided to get sententious about Mitchell's alleged misconduct have participated, however inadvertently, in a witch-hunt. The extent to which we should feel bad depends, in part, on how strongly you condemn excessive trust in senior police and politicians. Put it this way: it will never happen again.
Maybe the statement tampering detailed in the Hillsborough report should have encouraged more Crick-like scepticism last September? But you could equally see its exposure as a warning against police confabulation and its promulgation in the Sun. Lord Justice Leveson's conclusions on phone-hacking, published shortly after Mitchell's resignation, also discouraged the public from leaping to conclusions about any police reluctance to investigate what might appear to be acts of manifest criminality, or what he called their "defensive mindset".Maybe the statement tampering detailed in the Hillsborough report should have encouraged more Crick-like scepticism last September? But you could equally see its exposure as a warning against police confabulation and its promulgation in the Sun. Lord Justice Leveson's conclusions on phone-hacking, published shortly after Mitchell's resignation, also discouraged the public from leaping to conclusions about any police reluctance to investigate what might appear to be acts of manifest criminality, or what he called their "defensive mindset".
The "integrity" of his police witnesses, Leveson, concluded, after hearing evidence on the Champneys lifestyle, "shone through". This endorsement was something to bear in mind when, on the day Michael Crick's C4 Dispatches film exploded the police version, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, effectively exonerated his team: "I don't think, in terms of what I've heard up to now, that it's really affected the original account of the officers at the scene."The "integrity" of his police witnesses, Leveson, concluded, after hearing evidence on the Champneys lifestyle, "shone through". This endorsement was something to bear in mind when, on the day Michael Crick's C4 Dispatches film exploded the police version, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, effectively exonerated his team: "I don't think, in terms of what I've heard up to now, that it's really affected the original account of the officers at the scene."
If their leaked log, Mitchell's denials and the oddity of his abuse should have aroused suspicions that he might, indeed, have been misrepresented or misheard – could he have said "plod" instead? – these doubts were, as Hogan-Howe obviously appreciated, apt to be instantly dispelled by the apparent strength of the evidence against him and the seeming impossibility of officers fabricating at this level. Their version satisfied the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, who said he had discussed the incident with Hogan-Howe. He was "too busy", he later explained, to do more.If their leaked log, Mitchell's denials and the oddity of his abuse should have aroused suspicions that he might, indeed, have been misrepresented or misheard – could he have said "plod" instead? – these doubts were, as Hogan-Howe obviously appreciated, apt to be instantly dispelled by the apparent strength of the evidence against him and the seeming impossibility of officers fabricating at this level. Their version satisfied the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, who said he had discussed the incident with Hogan-Howe. He was "too busy", he later explained, to do more.
As for the contemporaneous police note, detailing expressions such as "you're fucking plebs" and "best you learn your fucking place", its publication clearly struck the Telegraph, as well as the Sun, as being in the public interest. "The members of the public looked visibly shocked... " wrote the officer, adding primly: "I cannot say if this statement was aimed at me individually or the officers present or the police service as a whole."As for the contemporaneous police note, detailing expressions such as "you're fucking plebs" and "best you learn your fucking place", its publication clearly struck the Telegraph, as well as the Sun, as being in the public interest. "The members of the public looked visibly shocked... " wrote the officer, adding primly: "I cannot say if this statement was aimed at me individually or the officers present or the police service as a whole."
The verbatim account might have gone down in history as a small masterpiece of the 'ello, 'ello, 'ello genre, had it not immediately been duplicated ("the public looked visibly shocked") with inept embellishments in an email to the deputy chief whip from a self-styled civilian – actually, Dispatches revealed, another police officer. His claim to have been present cannot, as anyone who saw Crick's programme will know, be reconciled with CCTV footage. If it was always perplexing that Mitchell did not, right away, shout more loudly about misrepresentation, an early comment from a Labour spokesman gives some idea of his choices, the day after two female officers were murdered in Manchester. "There are two alternatives – either the chief whip used appalling and offensive language to an officer going about their duty or Mr Mitchell is saying the officer is lying."The verbatim account might have gone down in history as a small masterpiece of the 'ello, 'ello, 'ello genre, had it not immediately been duplicated ("the public looked visibly shocked") with inept embellishments in an email to the deputy chief whip from a self-styled civilian – actually, Dispatches revealed, another police officer. His claim to have been present cannot, as anyone who saw Crick's programme will know, be reconciled with CCTV footage. If it was always perplexing that Mitchell did not, right away, shout more loudly about misrepresentation, an early comment from a Labour spokesman gives some idea of his choices, the day after two female officers were murdered in Manchester. "There are two alternatives – either the chief whip used appalling and offensive language to an officer going about their duty or Mr Mitchell is saying the officer is lying."
Eight arrests later, in an investigation entering its second year, the case against the police is rather more serious than that. Having sponsored the vilification of a senior politician by a staff deception, via a leaked document, the Metropolitan Police now affirms with its unconscionable delays and excuses that it cannot be trusted to address misconduct in its own ranks. This must be as offensive to the great majority of police officers as it is terrifying for the public. Even those who believe, like Boris Johnson, that the chief whip's profanities warranted his arrest, must be concerned about the message his experience sends to civilians who fear being overtaken by a similar nightmare, but lack both resources and champions, not that these have secured much satisfaction for Mitchell and his family. "It seems quite outrageous," the former DPP Lord Macdonald wrote recently, "that in the face of the simplicity of the allegations and this significant commitment of public resources, the investigation rambles on, with no apparent end in sight."Eight arrests later, in an investigation entering its second year, the case against the police is rather more serious than that. Having sponsored the vilification of a senior politician by a staff deception, via a leaked document, the Metropolitan Police now affirms with its unconscionable delays and excuses that it cannot be trusted to address misconduct in its own ranks. This must be as offensive to the great majority of police officers as it is terrifying for the public. Even those who believe, like Boris Johnson, that the chief whip's profanities warranted his arrest, must be concerned about the message his experience sends to civilians who fear being overtaken by a similar nightmare, but lack both resources and champions, not that these have secured much satisfaction for Mitchell and his family. "It seems quite outrageous," the former DPP Lord Macdonald wrote recently, "that in the face of the simplicity of the allegations and this significant commitment of public resources, the investigation rambles on, with no apparent end in sight."
Although everything suggests that nothing will deflect the Independent Police Complaints Commission from its mission to make Sir John Chilcot look impetuous, David Cameron could at least, with the reinstatement of Mitchell, reassert his own interest in justice. As for the reputational damage to the Met, an apology from Hogan-Howe may not, as in Mitchell's case, be enough.Although everything suggests that nothing will deflect the Independent Police Complaints Commission from its mission to make Sir John Chilcot look impetuous, David Cameron could at least, with the reinstatement of Mitchell, reassert his own interest in justice. As for the reputational damage to the Met, an apology from Hogan-Howe may not, as in Mitchell's case, be enough.
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