Ex-chief whip Andrew Mitchell probably did call police officers "plebs", a High Court judge has said as he rejected a libel case against the Sun. Mr Justice Mitting called the Tory MP's behaviour "childish" and said he found the MP's version of events inconsistent with CCTV footage of the row with PC Toby Rowland in Downing Street in 2012. Mr Mitchell, who may face costs of £2m, said he was "bitterly disappointed". PC Rowland said he and his family had been through "indescribable pain". "I am delighted to hear again my innocence, my reputation and my integrity as a police officer has been recognised. I hope now that a line can be drawn and everyone can be left in peace," he added. 'Politically toxic' Mr Mitchell sued News Group Newspapers over a story that appeared in the Sun in September 2012 which claimed he called PC Rowland a "pleb". Mr Mitchell acknowledged that he had used bad language but maintained he had not used that word. Giving his ruling, Mr Justice Mitting said: "For the reasons given I am satisfied at least on the balance of probabilities that Mr Mitchell did speak the words alleged or something so close to them as to amount to the same including the politically toxic word 'pleb'." Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the "infamous exchange of words" He ordered Mr Mitchell to pay interim costs of £300,000 but the total bill he will face is not yet known. Responding to the verdict, Mr Mitchell said: "Obviously I am bitterly disappointed by the result of the judgment today. "This has been a miserable two years but we now need to bring this matter to a close and move on with our lives." Stig Abell, managing editor of the Sun, also welcomed the verdict, hailing it as "a vindication for the Sun and its journalists - it is a victory for all journalism". The judge gave his verdict after listening to two weeks of evidence from 26 witnesses and considering volumes of documents concerning a 15-second exchange. Weighing up the competing claims, the judge said PC Rowland was "not the sort of man who would have had the wit, imagination or inclination to invent on the spur of the moment an account of what a senior politician had said to him in temper". He added that gaps and inconsistencies in PC Rowland's account did not demonstrate he had fabricated his account, as Mr Mitchell's lawyers claimed. If he was making up his account, PC Rowland would have had to have come up with the words within seconds, according to the judge. Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. The officer involved, PC Toby Rowland, said "the pain myself and my family have been through is indescribable" Outside court, the BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the ruling would be "devastating" for Mr Mitchell's reputation. The altercation took place as Mr Mitchell, who was government chief whip at the time, attempted to leave Downing Street via the main gate on his bicycle. 'Integrity restored' Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said he was "pleased" that "Toby's name has been cleared and his integrity restored". Michael Fabricant, another former whip and fellow Conservative MP who gave evidence during the trial, told the BBC his colleague could have kept his job if he had apologised. "If only he'd shown a little more humility at the time all this could have been avoided," Mr Fabricant said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30235009 What a ****ing tool. Made that poor copper out be a liar, let the media drag the poor ****er into the mud, allowed the tax payer to take the tab for a £3m trial. What ****ing Tory scumbag.
Why and how did this even make the news never mind a courtroom? Somebody got called a Pleb? Wow, big deal. Did he say it or did he not? Seriously who cares... It really is the most pathetic bit of 'news' I've ever known. If he did call the copper a pleb, he's got a point.
Hang on pal, this man was the chief whip of the Conservative party, Old Etonian, Oxbridge educated, so how dare a policeman accuse him of using such crass language. The bobby was there to uphold the law that should be ignored when the politico was late for a meeting and was wearing his best helmet and riding a very expensive bike, probably one that the bobby could not afford. The political Patricians must therefore defend their honour against the Plaebians and show the policeman to be the pleb he really is and probably take his job away. Judge will be on side of politician (wink wink) so yah sucks boo to naughty bobby. Police federation hopefully have a case for damages on behalf of all upset policemen which will cost Mitchell another couple of mil. Only in Britain.
The main word in the op is PROBABLY. So he possibly didn't then? What a load of ****, people call me all kinds of expletives, so ****, watter off a ducks back to me. I dare bet that copper has had to face all kinds of violent trouble during his career but somebody calls him a nasty name & it's boo ****ing hoo the soft ****, sitting there on his easy posting of guarding the Downing St gates. I think he saw the opportunity to make a bit a bit of dosh & took it.
