Mitchell faces a £1,000 ‘f ine’ for swearing at police
ANDREW Mitchell faces the humiliation of a Commons vote on whether his pay should be docked for swearing at police.
Labour yesterday tabled a motion that could see the Tory Chief Whip lose £1,000 after police claimed he called them ‘****ing plebs’ for refusing to let him cycle through the main gates of Downing Street.
That is the amount Mr Mitchell could have been fined if, like most people who swear at a police officer, he had been successfully prosecuted.
Labour is expected to force a vote during the next opposition day debate – a move that could expose the lack of support for Mr Mitchell among Lib Dem MPs and some Tories.
Mr Mitchell has repeatedly denied calling diplomatic protection officers ‘plebs’ but he has admitted swearing, and London Mayor Boris Johnson has said it would have been ‘commonsensical’ for Mr Mitchell to be arrested.
Under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, guidelines for magistrates suggest that anyone convicted of the offence faces a fine equivalent to between 50 and 125 per cent of their weekly income.
Mr Mitchell’s salary as Chief Whip is more than £79,000 and his weekly income from it is around £1,500.
Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who tabled the motion to dock Mr Mitchell’s pay, said: ‘We still don’t know what exactly Andrew Mitchell said to the police officers, nor has he offered a proper apology.
If the Prime Minister won’t act to clean up this mess then Parliament should do it for him.’
As Mr Mitchell took his place on the government frontbench yesterday for the first time since his outburst last month, he faced jeers from opposition MPs.
And in the first public criticism from his own party, former Tory whip Michael Fabricant, who returned to the backbenches in last month’s reshuffle, said that Mr Mitchell’s predecessor Patrick McLoughlin, now Transport Secretary, is ‘sorely missed as Chief Whip’. And during Home Office questions, Labour MPs repeatedly demanded that ministers condemn Mr Mitchell’s behaviour.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper sought to embarrass Home Secretary Theresa May by quoting her own words to the Police Federation last year in which she said: ‘It’s easy to sit round with friends and criticise the police. You put up with abuse and worse, but you do so to keep us free. It’s time we gave you all the respect you deserve.’
Miss Cooper called for Mrs May to condemn Mr Mitchell, but she refused. The Home Secretary said: ‘The Chief Whip apologised to the police officers concerned and the police accepted that apology. The police are not taking the matter any further, and that is an end to it.’ Mr Mitchell roared ‘Hear, hear!’ as Mrs May came to his defence.
A Downing Street spokesman made clear the Prime Minister has dug in his heels and is determined to hold on to his Chief Whip. He said: ‘Andrew Mitchell behaved in a way that he shouldn’t have towards a police officer, but he has apologised and that apology has been accepted.’
Mr Mitchell faces a further ordeal tomorrow when he will sit next to David Cameron during Prime Minister’s Questions when he will inevitably be made the butt of Ed Miliband’s attacks on the Government. And, also tomorrow, Tory MPs are expected to complain about Mr Mitchell’s behaviour during a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee.