"Plebgate" - A waste of time and money

The "Plebgate" affair rumbles on and on. I suppose the only thing about it is that the name is appropriate as it involves plebs at the gates!
To me it is a total waste of time, money and resources - just look at what is involved

1. A team of 30 Scotland Yard officers is investigating whether there was a conspiracy against Mr Mitchell
2. All 800 members of the DPG (Diplomatic Protection Group) have been told to submit sworn statements
3. So far four serving police officers have been arrested and charged with various offences such as misconduct in public office.

The investigation, code named  Operation Alice (in Wonderland ?) had cost £82,500 in staffing costs alone as at 16th January, but estimates suggest that it will be at least double that figure by the time that it is passed to the CPS. I know the police are supposed to be whiter than white, but then so are our "Honourable Members", and whilst the exact words used are not known, Mr Mitchell has admitted that he swore at the police officers on duty at Downing Street. The fact that an unimportant spat was allowed to escalate to the extent that it did is beyond belief. Certainly it reflects no credit on the senior police officer on duty or the prime minister's office.

Also in the news today is the sentencing of a female Detective Chief Inspector for having offered information to the News of the World concerning the phone hacking enquiry. Her defence was that she wanted to draw attention to the way that the resources had been removed from the anti-terrorist branch to staff the phone hacking enquiry. As she was nearing retirement and there was no evidence that she needed money, I must admit that I'm inclined to accept what she said. Whilst there are only 40 officers looking into plebgate, there were hundreds involved in the phone hacking enquiries, and there is no doubt that other departments will have suffered as a result of staff being seconded to these enquiries. If I had been a senior officer in the anti-terrorist branch, I'm sure that I would have been very concerned, but hopefully would have found a better way of expressing those concerns.

Let Alice in Wonderland continue!

Pleb-gate!

I am still trying to make sense of the whole affair - was it a little spat which got out of hand or was it, as has now been alleged, an attempt to "fit up" Andrew Mitchell?

Neither option seems particularly credible to  me. Mitchell admits to swearing at the police, but not using the word "pleb". I'm quite sure that this would not have been the first time that someone had swore at the police officers concerned and I fail to see their objection to the word "pleb" - I'm quite sure that far worse words would have been used against them when they were beat officers on routine duties. Personally, I would have been more offended by the use of swear words, particularly from a a Minister of the Crown, but seemingly these was considered unimportant which I find disappointing.

The suggestion that someone is trying to "fit-up" Andrew Mitchell seems equally unlikely. As far as the public is concerned, Mitchell was a nobody; the public aren't concerned about who is Chief Whip, it doesn't affect them in any way. So why on earth would anyone want to fit him up? Logically, only someone affected by his work would have an interest in doing so, which would be one or more of the hundred or so Tories who have rebelled against the government at some point and thus had their prospective careers curtailed. But collusion with the police - this seems totally improbable even to the most ardent conspiracy theorist.

Other commentators suggest that the Police Federation is behind the whole affair, but why? Surely their target would be Theresa May, the Home Secretary, whom they clearly dislike if one is to  judge by their treatment of her at this year's annual meeting of the Federation. But would police officers lie for their Federation? For a mate maybe, but for a federation, no, I wouldn't think so.