Plebgate - The Poluce Made It All Up.

[Gromit]

Turns out the 'eyewitness' wasn't there and was in fact not even on duty at the time. He has been charged.

You've got to laugh.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9753261/New-footage-of-Mitchell-plebgate-spat-emerges.html

[sandyRoe]

They 'verballed' an MP? Surely not?

[jno]

he may not have been there, but the police log still made the allegation, as I understand it.

Tough to lip-read that video.

[Gromit]

Yes jno. But the fake witness's account is the same as the police log version which had not been made public. It turns out the man is a serving police officer who now admits he was not in fact there. The CCTV footage discredits the police log account. The police version mentioned shocked witnesses, though the CCTV shows there wasn't any.

[Arti]

Who is being economical with the truth; the police or an MP?
Which came first; the chicken or the egg?

[Gromit]

Arti,

If you view the CCTV footage, you will notice it does not support the police version on a number of points.

[jno]

yes, that's true, I can't see anyone else but some passers-by, though their ears may have been burning.

[Gromit]

// It emerged last night that the officer involved allegedly contacted his local MP John Randall - who is also the deputy chief whip - claiming to be a member of the public who witnessed the incident. //

So Mitchell's Deputy was the reciprient of the fake eyewitness account. That account purported to be from a member of the public, but was in fact a serving police officer. The fake eyewitness seemed to corroberate the Downing Street police version of events and undermine Mitchell's. But it was lies, Made up. And led to the resignation of a Cabinet Minister.

[ludwig]

The baffling thing is that the police had no reason at all to lie about the incident. They didn't need to justify anything they'd done by fabricating the whole pleb rant thing.

It's bizarre. If it turns out he was telling the truth all along I hope all of the 'conspiritors' are very severely punished.

[jno]

yes - definitely an odd story. I'm not sure this is the whole video, though. The confrontation, as I recall, was alleged to have come when the police refused to let him through the main car gates. What the video shows is the following events when he went through the pedestrian gate - no confrontation at all as far as I can see.

Anyway, this should be interesting.

[ChillDoubt]

What is puzzling throughout this whole saga is how Mitchell always denied calling the officers plebs but wouldn't confirm what he DID actually call them.

If not plebs, then what?

[LazyGun]

Cannot vindicate Mitchell entirely on the basis of this latest information, although the allegations surrounding the supporting email that seems to have come from a serving police officer, and the lack of any corroboration of passersby from the CCTV do devalue the official log somewhat.

It should be remembered, before we all rush to conclude that Mitchell was,after all,stitched up, that the official police log is an account verified by both of the 2 officers on duty at the time - So if Mitchell did not say "pleb" then both these police officers conspired and lied - something I still find difficult to believe, primarily because of the use of that specific word,pleb.

[ludwig]

If there does turn out to be a conspiracy, this could be the first and only time the media will get to refer to something as Gategate.

[ladybirder]

LOL Ludwig.

Those who actually know him say he would never use that word. So who knows? That video is the side gate not the main gate so doesn't prove anything. More to come I expect.

[naomi24]

^^ Haaaaa! Twit! :o)

And there's me clicking on this thread intending to give a serious response. :o)

[naomi24]

oops. sorry Ladybirder, that was for Ludwig. You're not a twit. Cross-posted.

[modeller]

I tend to believe the police for two reasons .

1. What reason would they have to lie ?
2. How many of the police would even know the word ' pleb'.
I've never heard it used .

[Stargazer]

He said on tv this evening that he did say "effing ..." but he said that he had said "I thought you were here to effing help ..." If he muttered his comment maybe the two policemen thought he said effing pleb instead of effing help.

[Gromit]

Ludwig. Brilliant. Best Answer.

Curious how people are prepared to believe the Police version when a serving police officer has admitted to lying to bolster the police version. Why did they need yo do that?

Mitchell had apologised and the apology had been accepted. Then came the bogus email and his eventual resignation.

I think there are still quite a few mysteries to be solved here, but Mitchell (apparently he is loathsome) is determined to clear his name, so it could get even more interesting.

[Canary42]

Why has this all emerged so long after the event ?

Because that's how long it took Conservative Central Office to doctor the "evidence".

MPs are bigger liars than policemen (and that's saying something).

Ironic really, the biter bit.

[FredPuli43]

With Lazygun on this. The two officers who were undoubtedly there on duty are not being impugned by this. Trouble is, and it happened in the past and may still happen, that one officer being an idiot ruins the whole case even though his part doesn't affect testimony of other honest ones, and may be immaterial, in the sense that the case is sufficient without it