Yeah, mostly Rob I'd agree with you. In the grand scheme of things most coppers get called worse a good few dozen times a day I expect. Pleb though as a choice of insult ( if that indeed is what was used? ) would be really quite revealing of the mindset of the guy, wouldn't it? Probably not a word someone in a party accused of being elitist would really want to be seen using. All too redolent of class based snobbery and privelege, isn't it?
That perhaps explains why the party spin machine is falling over itself trying to paint this as simple rudeness on an off day, as opposed to him being caught snearing at the lower orders. Not a good look, if true! ;)
Wish I'd been on the other side of the gates as a tourist with a video camera running while this incident was taking place !! I'd start the bidding at £10,000.
John
Swearing at the police is an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act - I think. And the punishment can be a fine - £80? - and a night in a cell if drunk.
At least I think so, if memory serves from watching too many episodes of Night Cops.
If this individual swore at police they should simply have taken him into custody and found a reason for a cavity search.
I agree that if Mr Mitchell is apologising then it must be clear what he is appologising for, otherwise it is meaningless and insincere.
The Police officer involved would no doubt have been called far worse at some point in the past, as many of his colleagues are on a daily basis. However that is no defence.
If I had sworn at a copper I would more than likely not have rode away on my bike with no immediate repercussion. However those are the dangers of Public life and if Mr Mitchell did swear at the Police he should be held to account. On the flip side, he can face down the Police if he did not swear at them and have his day in court to clear his name.
Either way the truth will out.
The man came and went to Cabinet 4 times that day. 3 times he came and went through the main gate. On the 4th time he was prevented leaving through the gate.
Why?
As for the section 5, I too watch night cops on tv and notice that they are told a number of times to stop swearing before they are ticketed or arrested. This looks like a one off from someone who was pissed off over being stopped doing something he has been allowed to do all day.
As for the words he used, like Rob, I don't really care. The main support seems to be the opposition (no surprise) and the Police Fedreation (no surprise again) as the cuts are going to affect their membership. So of course these will try and keep this going.
Dave_Notts
What was interesting to me about this incident (viewing it from afar) was that the Police Federation guy, when interviewed on camera, said that if Mr Mitchell denied the allegation his members all had the same account recorded in their pocket books.
Now, this on a day quite close to the publication of the Hillsborough enquiry where Police Officers where found to have been somewhat economical with the truth when er, 'fixing' their account of what happened on that dreadful occasion, blaming people who could no longer speak for themselves. Very worrying.
Storm in a teacup. The Labour leadership jumping on a bandwagon, yet again. Problem with bandwagons is that they have already passed which is quite fitting as they are a bunch of hasbeens and hangers-on.
In Labout parlance, it was probably a good day to bury bad news for the Government so the Government have let it run for their own purposes with Labour being so ever compliant as always making a mockery of themselves.
In any event, although the word 'pleb' is being bandied about, I understood Mr Michell to have called the over officious female officer a 'moron' (maybe even a fucking moron). Well, proves he is human after all.
Now, where's that report about Government borrowing being the highest since records began - in spite of the austerity measures... I'm sure it coincided with this non-story and that is the real issue that people should be debating.
I would also like to know what he is saying sorry for. Is he saying sorry so as to take the heat off himself and the calls for him to quit, or is he saying sorry because he is being genuine? Well his background is like so many other Tory toffs who think they are head and shoulders above the rest of the " plebs " who cross their paths. He and his like sneer and demean those that have not have the highly privileged background that he has enjoyed.
For me he is in a position of high authority, and i do not buy the he is human excuse. He should have known better, has shown his true feelings, and utter contempt for the very people there to protect him, and the rest of the Tory toffs. Cameron ( another Tory toff from a most privileged background ), has done everything possible to distance himself from this in the hope it will all blow over. Of course Labour are making the most of this opportunity, no different had it been a Labour politician the Tories would have done the same. It is called trying to take the political moral high ground, something they all lack in one way or another.
He is in my view saying sorry in the hope it will all go away, and he can get back to be the Tory toff he plays so well. I hope that the media carry on in their fight for him to quit, as I think that is the right and proper thing for him to do. But when did any politician do the right thing?
I can imagine him in the 15th century screaming off with their heads.
The word pleb btw is " used as a derogatory term for someone considered unsophisticated or uncultured ". In the case of Andrew Mitchell, you cannot buy class , you are born with it, and sadly he certainly was not born with any.
Storm in a teacup...whipped up by the man himself. So he had a bad day,,,by all accounts the policeman was being a bit of a "jobsworth" maybe....but still just doing what he he had to do and check on identity. I am sure we all get this from time to time, and most of us curse under our breath....and call them all the names under the sun...when out of earshot !! Unfortunatly Mr Mitchell thought he was better and called him some abusive names to his face....exact names as yet undeterminded !!
Now if Mr Mitchell had just apologised as soon as it came to light.....maybe even taken the chance to have a picture taken shaking hands with the policeman in question, as he apologised in person. then I believe we would of all siad of well he is only human and it would of been yesterdays news. Instead he has given what to me seemed a rather insincere apology and has brought into question the actual policemans integrity by saying the words accredited to him were incorrect. This has just dragged it out and made the hole he started to dig even bigger.
For me is just shows up the arrogance of this individual. I am sure he will not be getting a better cabinet position, anytime in the near future !!!
When leading politicians of any of the main parties have landed in the erm..excrement like this one has, a lot depends on whether they have allies among the other politicians. Andrew Mitchell does not seem to be fondly thought of by most of his colleagues, and some columnists who are usually sympathetic to the Tories and their policies have turned against him in the last day or two, e.g. Janet Daley of the Daily Telegraph. And that interview he gave outside in the rain the other morning did not seem to be very well organised or crafted as the usual defensive interviews, possibly because he did not have the full backing of the spin team. Those of us who watch and enjoy "The Thick Of It" know how the publicity people in the background can be very fickle and decide to back or not back a minister on very flimsy whimsical grounds at times. So this man is still in the mire at the moment, and rightly or wrongly, more because of his personality than his politics.
Again, it has to be remembered what this guy's job is before condemning him as heartless.
His job is to be a bully. Nice guys don't cut the mustard as Government Chief Whip. They have to have an 'evil' streak if they are to be successful.
Mr Mitchell is a bruiser and probably more effective than his predecessor. I doubt he will be replaced on account of this incident.
On the Police front, how remarkable is it that an internal report of the incident has been placed in the public domain and for what purpose? We are apparently not dealing with some rookie 'wet behind the ears' constable but a Police Sergeant presumably with sufficient experience to put this sort of thing into context and deal with it in a much calmer manner - perhaps using 'ways and means' a more mature way of bringing something to the notice of those with sufficient influence to deal with the situation quietly and behind the scenes.
I'm convinced there is some hidden agenda here. The Police command are not showing themselves to be in proper control of the situation and if anyone should be removed from office, it should be the officer who would do well to vent his spleen on point duty for a couple of days, not by acting like a silly little school girl with PMT.
In my estimation, the officer is wholly unsuited to this type of duty as it requires discretion and a element of humility sadly lacking in this 'jobsworth' individual.
:rotflmao: