Met Police officer jailed for 12 months over 'plebgate' affair

Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell has told ITV News that the IPCC report into the 'plebgate' row was an "important report" as he reiterated his gratitude to the police watchdog following the sentencing of a police officer over the affair.

He said: "I think the IPCC report is an important report and I've issued a statement about that in which, on behalf of myself and my family, I've said how grateful we are both to the IPCC and of course to Channel 4 and Dispatches who originally broke this story."

Read: Met Police officer jailed for 12 months over 'Plebgate'

Conservative MP David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, said it is clear that former chief whip Andrew Mitchell has suffered an injustice an "all that remains is for him to go back into Cabinet."

Read: Pc's 'pleb' email that led to Andrew Mitchell resignation

Metropolitan Police officer Keith Wallis, who was today sentenced to 12 months in jail for lying about witnessing the infamous 'Plegate' incident involving Andrew Mitchell, wrote a drunken email to his MP falsely claiming that the former chief whip shouted "You ******* plebes" at officers.

Mr Mitchell said in a victim impact statement: "The existence of the emails contributed to my acute demoralisation and sense of isolation. They were therefore a contributory factor in the events which led to my resignation."

In a victim impact statement, former chief whip Andrew Mitchell told of his "acute demoralisation and sense of isolation" leading up to his resignation over the 'Plebgate' affair.

Read: Andrew Mitchell witness impact statement

He described being "devastated" to learn of Pc Keith Wallis' email to his deputy John Randall and said it led to a "very difficult" conversation with Prime Minister David Cameron: "During which he told me that he had seen the email and that I would have to go."

Speaking after Pc Keith Wallis was jailed for 12 months for lying about witnessing the incident, Andrew Mitchell warned "this can happen to anyone."

"After nearly a year and a half my family and I are grateful to the IPCC for their statement issued today," Mr Mitchell said. "We are also very grateful to Channel 4 Dispatches for their role in exposing what happened. This whole sorry affair has been immensely damaging to everyone involved."

Read: Andrew Mitchell witness impact statement

He added: "But above all it serves as a warning that if this can happen to a Cabinet Minister it can happen to anyone in Britain today."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has criticised "collusion" between officers involved in the 'plebgate' row.

Speaking after Pc Keith Wallis was jailed for 12 months for lying about witnessing the incident, the body's head Deborah Glass said: "The patchwork of evidence from emails, text messages and telephone calls does not suggest an organised conspiracy to bring down a Cabinet Minister.

"But there was clearly collusion between certain officers to, as they saw it, blow the whistle on bad behaviour toward one of their own, which ultimately had the same effect."

Read: Andrew Mitchell witness impact statement

She added: "The actions of Pc Wallis - and the other officers responsible for turning a largely inaudible altercation lasting less than a minute into a national scandal - have not only caused injustice to Mr Mitchell, they have brought shame upon the police service.

"Now that the criminal proceedings have concluded it is important for the Metropolitan Police Service to proceed as quickly as possible to the misconduct hearings and to deal effectively with any underlying issues so that they can finally close the book on this sorry chapter."

Britain's most senior police officer, speaking after the sentencing of Pc Keith Wallis, said that the officer - who is one year away from retirement - would now be the subject of a misconduct process "as soon as possible".

Read: Met Police officer jailed for 12 months over 'Plebgate'

Two officers from the DPG have received final written warnings and a third officer has undergone management action in relation to inappropriate comments, the Met confirmed.

Wallis, along with four other officers from DPG, will be the subject of gross misconduct hearings due to start at the end of the month.

A Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to a charge of misconduct in public office over the "plebgate" scandal last month.

Pc Keith Wallis, 53, falsely claimed in an email that he had witnessed an incident in Downing Street involving the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and other officers in September 2012.

Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell wrote an impact statement ahead of Pc Keith Wallis' sentencing for misconduct in public office over the "plebgate" scandal.

A Metropolitan Police officer will be sentenced today after pleading guilty to a charge of misconduct in public office over the "plebgate" scandal.

Pc Keith Wallis, 53, falsely claimed in an email that he had witnessed an incident in Downing Street involving the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and other officers in September 2012.

Last month, his offer to resign from the force was rejected by Scotland Yard, who said in a statement: "The deputy commissioner has refused to accept Pc Wallis's resignation and he will face a misconduct board in the coming weeks."

Read: Police officer admits misconduct over 'plebgate'