Plebgate: IPCC Questions Police 'Honesty'

The police watchdog has questioned the "honesty and integrity" of officers who held a key meeting with Andrew Mitchell before he resigned.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said a new inquiry should decide whether the three officers lied to try to discredit the former Tory chief whip.

Deputy IPCC chair Deborah Glass disagreed with West Mercia Police, who earlier ruled the Police Federation representatives had no case to answer.

She claimed officers at the summit were motivated by an "anti-cuts campaign" and knew their actions would put huge pressure on Mr Mitchell.

However, she added that she was powerless to launch misconduct proceedings because the senior Tory had chosen not to make a formal complaint.

Mr Mitchell welcomed her response but said he and his family were still waiting "in vain" for an apology from the officers involved.

The meeting was held in last October as the MP battled to keep his job after being accused of calling Downing Street police "****ing plebs".

Andrew Mitchell argued with police at the Downing Street gates

Inspector Ken MacKaill, Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones were accused of using interviews to deliberately misrepresent what he said.

An investigation by West Mercia Police concluded their comments had contributed to pressure on Mr Mitchell and his decision to quit but ruled they should not face action.

But Ms Glass said: "The investigating officer concluded that while the Federation representatives' comments to the media could be viewed as ambiguous or misleading, there was no deliberate intention to lie. I disagree.

"In my view, the evidence is such that a panel should determine whether the three officers gave a false account of the meeting in a deliberate attempt to support their Metropolitan Police colleague and discredit Mr Mitchell, in pursuit of a wider agenda.

"In my opinion, the evidence indicates an issue of honesty and integrity, not merely naive or poor professional judgement.

"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."

She added: "It was clear that the parties had very different agendas for the meeting. Mr Mitchell saw it as an attempt to clear the air, while the officers focused on Mr Mitchell's 'version of events'."

Mr Mitchell said there should be "considerable public concern" that the officers involved would face no disciplinary action for their behaviour.

He said: "The meeting was demonstrably held under false pretences and its outcome, a call for my resignation, was almost certainly pre-determined.

"The inconvenient truth that I gave a full explanation of what happened was not allowed to get in the way of that agenda.

"I flatly reject the conclusion of the police that 'there was no deliberate intention to lie' and I welcome the statement from Deborah Glass disagreeing with that conclusion and holding that the officers should have been made the subject of disciplinary proceedings."

He added: "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."

Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands Police insisted it did not believe there was sufficient evidence to stage misconduct proceedings.

"Our view is that the officers have demonstrated poor judgement in arranging and attending the meeting in the first place. In light of this, our position is that management action is a proportionate response," a spokesman said.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Plebgate: IPCC Questions Police 'Honesty'

Dengan url

http://serverkecil.blogspot.com/2013/10/plebgate-ipcc-questions-police-honesty.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Plebgate: IPCC Questions Police 'Honesty'

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Plebgate: IPCC Questions Police 'Honesty'

sebagai sumbernya