Log 'contradicts Mitchell account' (From Free Press Series)
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Log 'contradicts Mitchell account'
12:58am Monday 24th September 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013
The Sun claims to have seen police logbooks which state Andrew Mitchell did call officers 'plebs'
Police logbooks reportedly show Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell did call officers "plebs" and swore repeatedly during his furious outburst in Downing Street.
Unpublished records made by members of Scotland Yard's specialist protection team, which have been seen by The Sun newspaper, contradict the Tory enforcer's statement about the tirade he launched when he was stopped from cycling out of the main gates near No 10.
Senior coalition figures had called for a line to be drawn under the incident after the Sutton Coldfield MP apologised to the officer involved, but the documents will fuel speculation over his future in government.
It comes after Labour asked Downing Street's most senior civil servant to investigate the incident, claiming Mr Mitchell's account of the row was "unravelling by the day".
Police reports, made for senior officers, detail how the Tory was warned he would be arrested under the Public Order Act if he swore at the team again, according to The Sun.
The record is backed up by verbatim notes of the exchange made in the pocket books of two other officers, it said.
"The officers involved would have been happy to let the matter lie once Mitchell apologised," a source told the newspaper. "But their integrity is now being called into question by Mitchell's denials and that is totally unacceptable.
"Perhaps with the full verbatim report in the public domain, people can make up their own minds."
When allegations about the tirade were published on Friday, Mr Mitchell issued a statement denying using "any of the words that have been reported". But it was claimed over the weekend that while he remains adamant he did not use the word "pleb", he did swear.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood asking for Mr Mitchell and the officers involved to be interviewed, statements to be reviewed and CCTV footage to be examined. A swift investigation would allow Prime Minister David Cameron to "decide on the Chief Whip's continued position" based on the facts, she added.
