Plebgate officers express regret
Last updated four minutes ago
Police Federation representatives
apologise to MPs over distress caused to former Tory minister Andrew
Mitchell
- Plebgate police: the officers accused of lying
-
Plebgate officer: 'I can't apologise'Police Federation representatives apologise to MPs over distress caused to former Tory minister Andrew Mitchell
- The Guardian,
Sergeant Chris Jones
of West Midlands police leaves the hearing of the Home Affairs select
committee in central London. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters
Two Police
Federation officials embroiled in the Plebgate affair have refused to
apologise for their conduct towards the former Tory chief whip, Andrew Mitchell, but have told MPs they regret the distress he has been caused since the original incident in September last year.
DS Stuart Hinton of the Warwickshire police and Sgt Chris Jones of the West Midlands force were two of the three Police Federation officials accused of misrepresenting their meeting with Mitchell in his Sutton Coldfield constituency office last October, days after police had refused to let him and his bicycle through the main gates of Downing Street.
The two officers insisted that their position had not changed. Jones defiantly told MPs: "I can't apologise for something that I haven't done, but I do regret the disproportionate distress it has caused his family and I would urge that the Crown Prosecution Service report and investigation into this matter is concluded as quickly as possible."
The pair had been summoned to reappear before the Commons home affairs committee to face accusations that they gave contradictory, misleading and inconsistent accounts of the Mitchell meeting in their previous appearance.
Hinton gave an unqualified apology for "inadvertent inaccuracies" when he previously denied referring to the home secretary, Theresa May, as "this woman that the Conservative party have.
However, Jones, appeared extremely reluctant to offer a similar apology. After being repeatedly pressed by the committee chairman, Keith Vaz, about details of his disciplinary record that he failed to mention in his previous appearance, Jones said: "I do not believe my answers misled the committee. If, however, I failed to recognise the meaning of the questions I was asked then I apologise."
A letter from the chief constable of the West Midlands sent to the committee stated that of the 13 complaints against Jones, including the Plebgate affair, two were the subject of a local resolution with the complainant, three were closed by dispensation, five were unsubstantiated and two led to action being taken.
Jones told MPs that the two incidents that resulted in him being given "advice" were a "use of force" incident in which he had pushed somebody in the back leading to an injury to their mouth while he was off duty and the submission of the wrong CCTV video as an exhibit in a case.
Hinton said that when he had been asked about his disparaging reference to "this woman" or "that woman" at the earlier hearing, he had not remembered using the words. He said it was only when he recently listened again to the recording made of the meeting with Mitchell that he realised that he had. "It follows that I inadvertently gave an inaccurate answer to the committee," he said. "There was no intention to mislead the committee. I repeat my unqualified apology to the committee for this inaccuracy."
In a prepared statement, both men said that they were "not indifferent" to the distress that the whole episode has caused the former chief whip and shared the view that the whole thing had taken a disproportionate time to resolve.
But they were not prepared to apologise for wrongly claiming that Mitchell had not given them an account of what had happened in Downing Street.
Vaz said he said he accepted the officers' comments but was disappointed that they had not given an unequivocal apology to Mitchell and his family.
Dame Anne Owers, the chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, told MPs that a fresh investigation into the three Police Federation officials who were involved in the Sutton Coldfield meeting was under way and she hoped it could be completed by Christmas. The investigation will establish whether the officers should face misconduct charges.
The third officer involved, Insp Ken MacKaill of West Mercia police, was not summoned by the committee. It is waiting to receive further details of his disciplinary record and will recall him if he has failed to provide a full account.
DS Stuart Hinton of the Warwickshire police and Sgt Chris Jones of the West Midlands force were two of the three Police Federation officials accused of misrepresenting their meeting with Mitchell in his Sutton Coldfield constituency office last October, days after police had refused to let him and his bicycle through the main gates of Downing Street.
The two officers insisted that their position had not changed. Jones defiantly told MPs: "I can't apologise for something that I haven't done, but I do regret the disproportionate distress it has caused his family and I would urge that the Crown Prosecution Service report and investigation into this matter is concluded as quickly as possible."
The pair had been summoned to reappear before the Commons home affairs committee to face accusations that they gave contradictory, misleading and inconsistent accounts of the Mitchell meeting in their previous appearance.
Hinton gave an unqualified apology for "inadvertent inaccuracies" when he previously denied referring to the home secretary, Theresa May, as "this woman that the Conservative party have.
However, Jones, appeared extremely reluctant to offer a similar apology. After being repeatedly pressed by the committee chairman, Keith Vaz, about details of his disciplinary record that he failed to mention in his previous appearance, Jones said: "I do not believe my answers misled the committee. If, however, I failed to recognise the meaning of the questions I was asked then I apologise."
A letter from the chief constable of the West Midlands sent to the committee stated that of the 13 complaints against Jones, including the Plebgate affair, two were the subject of a local resolution with the complainant, three were closed by dispensation, five were unsubstantiated and two led to action being taken.
Jones told MPs that the two incidents that resulted in him being given "advice" were a "use of force" incident in which he had pushed somebody in the back leading to an injury to their mouth while he was off duty and the submission of the wrong CCTV video as an exhibit in a case.
Hinton said that when he had been asked about his disparaging reference to "this woman" or "that woman" at the earlier hearing, he had not remembered using the words. He said it was only when he recently listened again to the recording made of the meeting with Mitchell that he realised that he had. "It follows that I inadvertently gave an inaccurate answer to the committee," he said. "There was no intention to mislead the committee. I repeat my unqualified apology to the committee for this inaccuracy."
In a prepared statement, both men said that they were "not indifferent" to the distress that the whole episode has caused the former chief whip and shared the view that the whole thing had taken a disproportionate time to resolve.
But they were not prepared to apologise for wrongly claiming that Mitchell had not given them an account of what had happened in Downing Street.
Vaz said he said he accepted the officers' comments but was disappointed that they had not given an unequivocal apology to Mitchell and his family.
Dame Anne Owers, the chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, told MPs that a fresh investigation into the three Police Federation officials who were involved in the Sutton Coldfield meeting was under way and she hoped it could be completed by Christmas. The investigation will establish whether the officers should face misconduct charges.
The third officer involved, Insp Ken MacKaill of West Mercia police, was not summoned by the committee. It is waiting to receive further details of his disciplinary record and will recall him if he has failed to provide a full account.
- Copy http://www.theguardian.com/uk
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