This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24615491
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| 'Plebgate' meeting police apologise for briefing | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Three police officers have apologised for their "poor judgement" in briefing the media about the "plebgate" scandal. | |
| Ken MacKaill, Stuart Hinton, and Chris Jones said they had not planned to mislead the public. | |
| They came under scrutiny when ex-cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said he had a transcript which contradicted their account of a meeting with him. | |
| Mr Mitchell lost his job after being accused of calling officers "plebs" - a charge he has always denied. | |
| Insp MacKaill from West Mercia Police, Det Sgt Hinton from Warwickshire Police, and Sgt Jones from West Midlands Police said they had decided to issue a statement "in response to public concern generated by the widely reported outcome of West Mercia's investigation into matters arising from the meeting". | |
| The statement continued: "The reputation of, and public confidence in, the police service is of immense concern to each of us. | |
| "We acknowledge the investigation's criticism relating to our poor judgement in talking to the media following the meeting with Andrew Mitchell, for which we take this opportunity to apologise. | |
| "We would like to emphasise (as we did to the investigation) that in no way did any of us ever plan or intend to mislead anyone about what occurred during this meeting or otherwise." | |
| The MP resigned from the cabinet after he was accused of calling Downing Street police "plebs" when they prevented him from riding a bicycle through gates leading into Whitehall in September last year. | |
| The meeting with officers, working as representatives of the Police Federation, was held on 12 October 2012, three weeks after the incident in Downing Street. | |
| A transcript of a recording Mr Mitchell made shows that, while he admitted swearing, he denied using the word "pleb" or insulting the police. | |
| But, after the meeting, three senior police officers said he had refused to elaborate on what had happened and should quit, which he later did. |