2 years after plebgate, a judge has decided PC Toby Rowland was telling the truth and Andrew Mitchell had called police "f@!#ing plebs".
PC Rowland was doing his job, protecting the prime minister when a public schoolboy toff demanded the rules be bent for him, and he didn't like it when PC Rowland and his diplomatic protection group colleagues refused.

It is such a shame that some DPG officers decided to lie to help depose the MP, when there was no need. One is (quite rightly) now a serving prisoner for his crime.
The government tried to mitigate the damage by utilising the security services to record a meeting with three police federation officers at a private meeting, and they were stupidly gullible to discuss the plebgate incident with Mitchell in his bugged office and then hold an impromptu press conference. Again, they ended up looking stupid when the recordings differed from the recordings and this distracted from the behaviour of Mitchell.

PC Toby Rowland has been accused of being corrupt by Mitchell for 2 years. He has been the centre of press interest and would have no doubt had his life gone over in fine detail by the security services in an attempt to discredit him and save the government face.
He has acted with amazing restraint and dignity, and the truth has now come out. Mitchell deserves jail for perverting the course of justice, and I hope PC Rowland gets a huge compensation reward for the grief Mitchell has caused him.

Rant over. _________________
Gone - 2010 Rimini XS

I wouldn't call that a rant, merely a good précis of the facts. Mitchell will no doubt be taken to the cleaners now by the lawyers, after their maximum possible perks (sorry, costs). For once I hope they get them.

Mitchell comes across as an arrogant, lying berk who expected "don't you know who I am?" to work. It ever so nearly did but fortunately he's got his comeuppance. Don't forget also that "Pleb" was probably the least offensive word he used to the copper. He's the political equivalent of Russell Brand - foul-mouthed vicious individual who really has no place in public life. Good riddance. Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
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Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

Think I heard that costs are estimated to be +/- £3m and Mitchell is worth +/- £2m. I am sure he will get help with his council tax etc. after the lawyers have finished with him

That's not actually what the judge said.

This was a case of defamation. Mitchell was claiming that the article that the Sun published defamed him, it either caused him financial loss or reduced a reasonable persons opinion of him.

What he actually said was that on the balance of probabilities, even if Mitchell did not use the exact words, the words he did use were close enough that it made no difference to the Sun's reporting of the event.

It also looks like the judge gave Mitchell a pretty good lesson in how to insult someone in a far more refined manner.

In my humble opinion, this was an episode that could have, sorry...SHOULD have, been sorted out & closed at the time.

In the real world, on the day, a short grown-up apology would have saved millions of wasted ££, hundreds of wasetd hours, tons of wasted printing ink.

At the end of t'day, no-one comes out with any dignity. Mitchell looks like a total puffed up berk. Plod looks like they concocted a story to push Mitchell into being a right berk.

I think that Mitchell will be hit when the compensation claims are cranked.

As in Arabs vs Jews (as in Genesis song), a plague on both of their fetid houses. ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

There's only two people that know the truth, the rest of us, it's just opinion.

But opinions worth sharing  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Perhaps but it's a storm in a tea cup that's got out of hand.

Good old defamation. I must say I didn't see him winning this one. There were some changes to defamation law at the start of the year to give more free speech if memory serves me well. When I studied it, there was a defence of fair comment which I believe is honest comment now.

Now, purely to test my memory as I memorised this for an exam and I recite this without looking at the book: "A defamation is the publication of a statement which reflects upon a persons reputation and tends to lower him in the estimation of a right thinking member of society generally or makes that person shun or avoid him."

As posted by others, this whole situation got way out of hand and should never have come to this. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Honest opinion it is now. Here's the latest statute if anyone wants a look: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/26/contents/enacted LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

"tends to lower him in the estimation of a right thinking member of society generally"
Anyone, particularly a so-called public servant like an MP, who uses language like Mitchell admitted to, let alone what he denied, couldn't get much lower in my opinion. Ignorant foul-mouthed oaf who deserves whatever he gets. Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
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Yet Mitchell was suggesting that the Sun's report, including that he used the word "Pleb", was defamatory. It lowered him in the estimation of others. The point Mitchell missed was that on the balance of probabilities, the Sun's report was true and not something made up in a bid to tarnish his reputation.

Yet he thought he could win! He has to pay interim costs of £300k but the total bill could be in the region of £2 mil to £3 mil apparently. That went well Mitchell. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Didn't Ken Barlow from Coronation Street win something like one penny against the Sun in a libel case?

Edit: Ooops, it was £50K but he still 'lost' the case. I knew there was something strange about the outcome.

"In 1991, Roache won a libel action against The Sun, which had described him as boring and unpopular with his fellow Coronation Street stars. He was awarded £50,000 damages by the jury, the same amount that he had turned down in an out of court settlement offered by the newspaper before the case. As a result, he was liable for the £120,000 costs incurred".