'Plebgate' row: Officer denies misleading account of Mitchell meeting

A police officer thanked Andrew Mitchell for his "candour" at a meeting to discuss the "plebgate" row, but the following day told a radio station he had been evasive, a tribunal has heard.

Det Sgt Stuart Hinton and two other Police Federation representatives met the Tory MP in October 2012, weeks after the Downing Street incident.

The next day, he told the BBC the MP should resign for not fully explaining.

The officer denies breaching police standards on honesty.

The "plebgate" row centred on a 15-second confrontation in September 2012 between Mr Mitchell and PC Toby Rowland, in which - according to the Sun newspaper - the then Conservative chief whip called the officer a "pleb" for his refusal to permit him to cycle through the main gates at Downing Street.

Opening a gross misconduct case against Det Sgt Hinton, Aaron Rathmell said a recording of the meeting, which was played to the tribunal, showed the MP had admitted to swearing at a police officer during an exchange at the gates of Downing Street but denied calling him a "pleb".

The recording also revealed that during the meeting Det Sgt Hinton praised Mr Mitchell for his "candour" after the MP told them what happened and said he was "profoundly and deeply sorry".

Following the meeting, serving Warwickshire Police officer Det Sgt Hinton made comments, in an interview on BBC Radio Five Live on 13 October, about what was said at that meeting. The tribunal is considering whether these remarks were deliberately misleading.

Mr Rathmell told the tribunal: "Mr Hinton appeared on BBC radio and commented: "He (Mr Mitchell) still won't say exactly what he did say, which suggests that the officer's account is more likely to be the accurate one."

Mr Rathmell said Det Sgt Hinton made these comments despite the fact he seemed satisfied with the answers he heard in the meeting, telling Mr Mitchell "I appreciate your candour" and later "everybody can have a bad day".

Det Sgt Hinton and two colleagues from neighbouring forces had used the meeting "as a springboard" for a publicity campaign against government spending cuts, Mr Rathmell said.

He added: "The key controversy in this case surrounds exercising of judgment as to whether Sgt Hinton gave a misleading account regarding the meeting with Mr Mitchell, rather than facts or witnesses' statements being in dispute."

Mr Mitchell was forced to resign from the cabinet over the "plebgate" row but vowed to clear his name in the libel courts, launching an action against the Sun.

But a judge ruled in 2014 that the MP probably had called PC Rowland a "pleb", and Mr Mitchell was ordered to pay damages as well as the Sun's legal costs.

The misconduct panel is being held at the Warwickshire Police headquarters to hear an allegation the officer breached the force's professional standards of honesty, integrity and conduct.

Det Sgt Hinton, who was secretary of the local Police Federation branch at the time, denies any wrongdoing.

The hearing, which is scheduled for up to three days, continues.