Who would replace Andrew Mitchell?
Tories are already wondering who would replace Andrew Mitchell if he became the shortest serving government appointment in recent memory. Andrew Mitchell had been making a pretty strong play for this job for some time so the field was not crowded with people willing to take on the angry cyclist.
One name that gets mentioned is Michael Fallon, but he’s only just landed in BIS and has been set a number of tasks including trying to get shot of any government asset that can be sold off. His relations with Vince Cable have so far been fairly smooth – although Vince Cable made a point of introducing him after David Willetts at a “meet the parents” ministerial team talk last week and Michael Fallon left half-way through the gathering for an important meeting. One attendee though it was a stroke of genius sending out a message that he really was much busier than anyone else.
So if Mr Fallon is deemed to be too busy elsewhere, could this be a moment for Francis Maude to step in? He was considered for a move in the chats between George Osborne and David Cameron ahead of the last reshuffle. I understand that Jeremy Hunt was pondered as the man who might go to the Cabinet Office (Maria Miller was pondered as a possible Health Secretary), but the Tory top duo decided that Mr Hunt “wouldn’t be tough enough” to take on the top civil servants. Anyway, Francis Maude is some Tories’ tip for the whip job.
None of which helps David Cameron with the “plebs” fallout damage. Some posters at the demo outside this conference used the word. I’m sure speeches here and at Labour’s conference will be peppered with it. I hear that Andrew Mitchell has privately specifically denied using that word. But the suggestion is that it appears in at least one contemporaneous note in a police notebook.
If Number 10 truly thought that some of the diplomatic special protection police were lying in a way that traduced the reputation of a minister then they you might think logic would dictate that the police officer(s) should be removed from service. As I write, no sign of that!
There are 8 comments on this post
The thing people are overlooking is that Mitchell is actually right. He is special, is superior. The reason being that if I did even what he says he did (ignoring the Police reports) then I would have been charged. He was not so clearly he is special.
And then if my boss found out – well an apology would not be seen as adequate.
Only conclusion is that he is superior otherwise he would never have got away with what he admits he did.
Heaven forbid the thought that a diplomatic protection group officer would lie, it’s not as though the Royal protection officers at Buck palace sold royal telephone numbers to the press, or abused publicly issued credit cards…… Oh no.
The question no-one has yet seen fit to raise is what took place during the day to lead the police to decide that Andrew Mitchell, who by all accounts had been going in and out like a fiddler’s elbow, could not be allowed to pass any longer? Who took that decision, and why was it not communicated to the Chief Whip in advance of his next appearance? Or was it a spur of the moment decision by officers who were getting fed up at having to open the gates for a mere cyclist? Surely not!
“…If Number 10 truly thought that some of the diplomatic special protection police were lying…”
The Police would never do such a thing, as Hillsborough demonstrates.
Sure you have already had it pointed out Gary, but if Mitchell goes now he wouldn’t be the shortest serving government appointment in recent memory. He has already surpassed a certain David Laws’s 17 days…
It is likely that had he wheeled his bike to the pedestrian gate in the first instance the jobsworthy PC would have re-directed him to the vehicle gate. It is all about power.
Everywhere you go there is always someone trying to boss you about and tell you what to do and how to live your life.
Perhaps its time that more of us stood up to these people and said no.
It amazes me just how compliant we are.
Tory Cabinet minister = Arrogant tof??
Is this news??
Contents of Policeman’s notebook passed to Sun Newspaper -
The question is not simply how this happened?
but why??
What are the Police (could it be anyone other than the police) up to?
Could there be a link to a dispute over cut-backs in funding for Police?