British PM under fire over 'pleb' spat
2012-12-22 08:05
London - Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron was under
fire on Saturday from friends of a minister who quit over claims he called
police officers 'plebs', saying the PM left Andrew Mitchell 'swinging in the
wind'.
Mitchell was forced to step down as the government's chief
whip in October after officers claimed he swore at them and called them
"plebs" when they stopped him from cycling out of the main gates of
Downing Street a month earlier.
The politician - who as chief whip was responsible for
enforcing discipline in Cameron's Conservative Party - has admitted swearing
but has always denied he used the word "plebs".
The issue has exploded again this month with the police now
investigating what they call "extremely serious" allegations that a
serving police officer fabricated evidence in the case.
Security camera footage aired on television this week, which
appeared to show little sign of a dispute and few potential witnesses, in
contrast to the leaked police log of the incident.
Using the same phrase, several newspapers quoted unnamed
friends of Mitchell saying Cameron had known about the footage but left
Mitchell "swinging in the wind" by not allowing him to see it before
he resigned.
"It was a disgraceful decision to let it lie and let
Andrew swing in the wind," one was quoted as saying by The Independent
newspaper.
Another in The Guardian was quoted as saying: "The
prime minister clearly decided not to raise concerns with Bernard
Hogan-Howe," Britain's top police chief, calling such a decision
"astonishing".
Serious questions
"Back in September, Downing Street had three quarters
of the facts that are now in the public domain.
"It is inexplicable that no questions were asked of the
police."
Hogan-Howe is to face a grilling by lawmakers over Scotland
Yard's handling of the incident.
The head of London's Metropolitan Police will face questions
in the New Year from the Home Affairs Select Committee scrutiny panel, The
Times newspaper said.
The cross-party body has written to Hogan-Howe asking for an
explanation over Scotland Yard's handling of the case.
"There are serious questions that need answering,"
said committee chairman Keith Vaz.
A police officer was arrested last weekend on suspicion of
misconduct in a public office.
Another man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of
"intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable
offence on or around 14 December".
