Murkier and murkier in West Mercia

Here’s the latest twist in the Andrew Mitchell saga. The IPCC’s Deborah Glass now says in a letter that the initial police investigation into whether Police Federation police officers had a case to answer for misconduct was watered down by the forces involved.

Deborah Glass says that the draft report she originally saw in July said there was a case of misconduct to answer and the second report sent in October said there was no case to answer. Deborah Glass says in her letter published today that she doesn’t believe that the evidence supported the case of no case to answer.

Someone, the suggestion appears to be, has interfered with the original draft and squashed it. Some clarification may emerge on Wednesday next week when the three relevant chief constables appear in front of the home affairs select committee.

Letter to Warwickshire, PCC, Mr Ron Ball, 16 Oct 2013

The prime minister weighed in behind Theresa May in saying that the police officers who misrepresented, in his view, the conversation they had with Andrew Mitchell should apologise to Andrew Mitchell. It is a rare thing for a home secretary to get involved in so personal an operational matter, rarer still for the prime minister to do so. This is a very special episode in British public life and it is not over yet.

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