Plebgate Police Officers In Mitchell Apology

Three police officers have apologised for their conduct after meeting the former chief whip during the "plebgate inquiry".

The Police Federation have released a statement in which the officers say they are sorry for "poor judgement" in talking to the media after a meeting with Andrew Mitchell.

The statement has been issued on behalf of Inspector Ken MacKaill, of West Mercia Police; Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton, of Warwickshire Police; and Sergeant Chris Jones, of West Midlands Police.

The three officers have been under pressure to apologise to Mr Mitchell for their conduct since an Independent Police Complaints Commission report last week questioned their "honesty and integrity".

It concluded that evidence suggested the three had lied in media interviews about what Mr Mitchell had said in a meeting on October 12 last year to support police colleagues in London, who claimed he had called them "******* plebs" during a Downing Street row over his bicycle.

Mr Mitchell was stopped from cycling through the Downing Street gates

Following the report both David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May called on the officers to apologise for their actions.

However, the Police Federation statement stops far short of an outright apology to Mr Mitchell. Instead it said only: "We acknowledge the investigation's criticism relating to our poor judgement in talking to the media following the meeting with Andrew Mitchell, for which we take this opportunity to apologise.

"We would like to emphasise (as we did to the investigation) that in no way did any of us ever plan or intend to mislead anyone about what occurred during this meeting or otherwise."

The officers met with Mr Mitchell, Sutton Coldfield MP, as representatives of the local police federation but the IPCC found that in interviews afterwards there was "evidence to suggest" that officers gave a "false account" of the meeting - a meeting Mr Mitchell had recorded.

Mr Cameron had said the police should apologise to Mr Mitchell

The report found: "In the media and political climate of the day, I do not consider that the officers could have been in any doubt about the impact of their public statements on the pressure being brought on Mr Mitchell.

"As police officers, they had a responsibility to present a fair and accurate picture. Their motive seems plain: they were running a successful, high-profile, anti-cuts campaign and the account that he provided to them did not fit with their agenda."

Mr Mitchell quit the role of chief whip because of the scandal.

While he has admitted arguing with the officers on September 19 last year, he has always denied using the word "plebs", which was the politically charged element of the phrase that led for calls for him to resign.

Police officers involved in the incident have been accused of colluding to falsify evidence - adding the word "plebs" - in an attempt to make political capital out of the scandal at a time of police cuts.

The whole scandal has been seen as significantly damaging the public's trust in the police force.

CCTV of Mr Mitchell at the Downing Street gates

The officers found to be at fault by the IPCC will not be disciplined by the force for their part in the debacle.

Following the IPCC report, Mr Mitchell said: "It is a matter of deep concern that the police forces employing these officers have concluded that their conduct has not brought the police service into disrepute. Most people will disagree.

"It is a decision which will undermine confidence in the ability of the police to investigate misconduct when the reputation of the police service as a whole is at stake.

"My family and I have waited nearly a year for these police officers to be held to account and for an apology from the Police Forces involved. It seems we have waited in vain."

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