Toby Rowland didn’t have the ‘wit, imagination or inclination’ to invent the account he produced of Andrew Mitchell calling police officers ‘plebs’ at the gates of Downing Street. In any other circumstances that description would be rather devastating, but today it must have sounded rather sweet for the police officer when Mr Justice Mitting uttered those words as he ruled that Andrew Mitchell probably ‘did speak the words alleged or something so close to them as to amount to the same including the politically toxic word “pleb”.’ Mitchell has lost his libel case against News Group Newspapers and must pay £300,000 in costs.
The former chief whip said outside the court today that he was ‘bitterly disappointed’ but that he wanted to move on with his life. The question is whether moving on will include staying in Parliament. Many of Mitchell’s colleagues may still believe his account of that night in 2012.
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