Thrasher Mitchell’s toxic tirade

Andrew Mitchell spent two years detoxifying his image at the International Development department, wearing charity wristbands and talking about polio vaccines. But however much success he enjoyed in creating a persona of a reasonable, mild-mannered man concerned with poverty (and our leading article this week disputes whether the programmes he led were anywhere near as successful as that), the man known as ‘Thrasher’ trashed that reputation this week. The Sun reports that he raged ‘You’re f***ing plebs’ at policemen who had the temerity to stop him from cycling out of the Downing Street gates. His tirade allegedly included him repeatedly telling the police officers that he was the chief whip, as though he were twisting the arm of a cocky young MP threatening to rebel against the government. The paper says:

A source reported Mr Mitchell as saying: ‘Open this gate, I’m the Chief Whip. I’m telling you – I’m the chief whip and I’m coming through these gates.’

The account of events – which Mitchell disputes, while apologising for behaviour he realises was unacceptable – also says this:

The PC targeted by the tirade reported to his superiors that Mitchell told him: ‘Best you learn your f***ing place.