Plebgate: Andrew Mitchell loses libel case

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30235009

Weighing up the competing claims, the judge said PC Rowland was “not the sort of man who would have had the wit, imagination or inclination to invent on the spur of the moment an account of what a senior politician had said to him in temper”.

Ouch!

Outside court, the BBC’s legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the ruling would be “devastating” for Mr Mitchell’s reputation.

He had a reputation????

I wonder if we’ll still somehow all end up paying his absolutely enormous legal bill?

🙂

Other lot asking for £200,000 up front as being approx 1/5th of their total bill. Then he needs to pay his own costs.

Ouch.

High risk and big stakes taking it to court, and its blown up in his face

Did you see that the police admitted that nobody could trace any documentation to support the whole ‘bikes are not allowed to use the main gates’ order in the first place? The whole ‘rule’ was a willo the wisp.

(Mr Justice Mitting)described the MP’s behaviour as “childish” and found his version of events was inconsistent with the CCTV recording from that evening.

He added that gaps and inconsistencies in PC Rowland’s account did not demonstrate he fabricated his account, as Mr Mitchell’s lawyers had claimed.

“For the reasons given I am satisfied at least on the balance of probabilities that Mr Mitchell did speak the words alleged or something so close to them as to amount to the same including the politically toxic word pleb.”
Ouch indeed !

Mr Justice Mitting gave his verdict after listening to two weeks of evidence from 26 witnesses and considering volumes of documents concerning a 15-second exchange.

What a waste of time and money over absolutely bugger all.

What a waste of time and money over absolutely bugger all.

Not really, an unpleasant individual and serving politician has been outed as a raging snob and totally humiliated, so I’d say some good has come of it.

Indeed the instant justice of the hammer without recourse to appeal would have been better…and any replies to go unanswered 😉

Certainly ranks up there with Jonathan Aitkin’s “simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play” as a decision to go to court.

instant justice of the hammer

Drac/Cougar’s going to ban him ? 😯

was aimed at Cougars post

TBH it looks like everyone lied /fabricated or exaggerated the events to some degree still “justice” has been done

Interesting case given Police found guilty of various charges. All seems a high risk case given he admitted saying F***, so very possible he said pleb too – certainly that was the judges view.

What a waste of time and money over absolutely bugger all.

Well he lost his job over it. Also think of all the VAT and the money in the lawyers pockets 😯

I don’t know what he thought was going to happen. From the news reports I’ve heard, the court hearings consisted of a procession of witnesses coming forward to testify that he was indeed a complete **** and that what he was accused of was pretty typical of him!

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer fella.

binners – Member

From the news reports I’ve heard, the court hearings consisted of a procession of witnesses coming forward to testify that he was indeed a complete **** and that what he was accused of was pretty typical of him!

And that was just his friends!

I assume he just expected to Judge to side with him as he was a Tory and the other side was a Pleb!

Certainly ranks up there with Jonathan Aitkin’s “simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play” as a decision to go to court.

+1

I think he was hoping that, in the light of all the other proceedings, News Group would roll over and settle.

How to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory etc.

Chief whip is basically ‘most unpleasant bullying arsehole’ turned into an official role. To get that job in the conservative party you come up against some pretty stiff competition.

He really must be an exceptional bellend.

an unpleasant individual and serving politician has been outed as a raging snob

Sure. But last I checked there was no law against that, otherwise we wouldn’t have a House of Lords.

He’d have been better letting it go. Suing a newspaper is a high risk strategy.

He’s got pay the PC and the sun £150k each in the next 14 days as a down payment on their costs…

“What a waste of time and money over absolutely bugger all”

Not really, an unpleasant individual and serving politician has been outed as a raging snob and totally humiliated, so I’d say some good has come of it.

Do you really need the decision of a court case to inform you that a public school educated Tory politician might be a “raging snob” ?

Wonder what PC Rowland will be doing tonight?

And that was just his friends!

The oddest bit is turns out he’s mates with Bob Geldof.

What about the police who where found to have been lying / fabricating evidence ?

Easy to say now that Mitchell should have left the matter there, he would have emerged with some credibility.

EDIT :wasawas don’t you think that there is something fundamentally wrong with this statement. FWIW I am going to a Hacked Off meeting in a couple of weeks.

He’d have been better letting it go. Suing a newspaper is a high risk strategy.

Other lot asking for £200,000 up front as being approx 1/5th of their total bill. Then he needs to pay his own costs.

I am sure his mate Sir Bob will help him out 😉

What about the police who where found to have been lying / fabricating evidence ?

the officer who sent the e-mail and said they were there when they were not went to prison – 12 mths iirc

His behaviour did not mean they were lying but the police have not covered themselves in glory – false description of the meeting for example

Who knew the establishment lied?

He had previous form for being rude to officers of the state. Would have been much easier for him if he had behaved in a civil manner in the first place, or at least made apologies to the officers after his outburst.

Another great example, after Emily Thornberry’s stupid Tweet, of the Westminster elite thinking they are better than the rest of us.

At least justice has been served.

he did apologise but denied saying pleb hence the court case

EDIT :wasawas don’t you think that there is something fundamentally wrong with this statement. FWIW I am going to a Hacked Off meeting in a couple of weeks.

Nope. He wasn’t sure if he said it or not and the cop was too stupid to make it up. It was never going to end well.

IMO Hacked Off are worse than what they’re trying to sort out. The laws they’re championing would end the vast majority of ‘proper’ investigative journalism. I see them as the UKIP of this issue – you can kind of see the point they’re making but the solution they’ve proposed is out of all proportion.

It really is dangerous riding your bike in London without a helmet then.

Who’d fancy being a judge in this case. Just look at the parties involved, and ask the question ‘who is telling the truth here?’

a) A Tory politician
b) The Sun newspaper
c) The Metropolitan Police
d) None of the above

Hang on,

the judge said PC Rowland was “not the sort of man who would have had the wit, imagination or inclination to invent on the spur of the moment an account of what a senior politician had said to him in temper”.

Isn’t that worse than calling someone a pleb? Poor sod, not only is he a pleb but he’s a stupid, slow-witted pleb.

I agree Cougar – he’s going to get a bit of ribbing at work tomorrow.

Isn’t that worse than calling someone a pleb?

He wasn’t in court because he was accused of insulting PC Rowland, he was in court to decide whether or not he had used the word pleb.

2 snobs have got their comeuppance in one week – result.

Chief whip is basically ‘most unpleasant bullying arsehole’ turned into an official role.

Indeed. You need to be a particular type of swine to get that job.

It hasn’t been all roses for the police officer – the judge said that he didn’t consider PC Rowland had the wit to make up the allegation. Ouch.

It was the judge that said that ernie!

It was the judge that said that ernie!

Yes I know. The judge had to decide whether he had used the word pleb, not whether he has insulted PC Rowland. The judge, no doubt a public school educated snob himself, decided that he had. Although he himself would presumably have called him a dim-witted pleb.