Chris Mullin

Andrew Mitchell relives the agony of Plebgate

In an honest, self-deprecating memoir, the Tory MP remembers the brief altercation at the gates of Downing Street that brought him to the edge of ruin

Andrew Mitchell appears at the High Court in November 2014 to sue News Group Newspapers for libel over an article in the Sun. Credit: Alamy

Andrew Mitchell, as he readily admits, was born into the British Establishment. Almost from birth, his path was marked out: prep school, public school, Cambridge, the City, parliament, the Cabinet. At every step along the way he acquired the connections that would propel him to the stratosphere. But for one extraordinary event, who knows where he might have ended up? Certainly in one of the top jobs.

In other circumstances this might have been a conventional story. Posh boy goes into the City, makes loads of money and then takes time out to come and govern us. In fact this is an unusual memoir — honest, self-deprecating and rich in anecdote. A fundamental streak of decency runs throughout.

Mitchell’s family made their money in the wine trade — they owned El Vinos. After a year as a junior army officer and several years in banking with Lazards, he was elected to parliament, aged 31. His father, a minister in the Thatcher government, was already there. The early years were conventional: a spell in the whips’ office, followed by a couple of years as a junior minister. He lost his seat in the Labour landslide of 1997 but soon returned, this time for ultra-safe Sutton Coldfield. Although initially not in the Cameron camp, he found himself on the Tory front bench as international development spokesman.

A minor incident that lasted no more than 45 seconds brought Andrew Mitchell to the edge of ruin

Ordinarily this would not be seen as a particularly good career move for an up-and-coming Tory, but having lost three successive elections, the Conservatives were in the doldrums and Cameron was determined to shake off their reputation as ‘the nasty party’. By contrast, international development was a Labour success story. Moreover, this was one of the few areas where, to use a phrase beloved of jingoists, Britain really did punch above its weight.

Mitchell, with Cameron’s backing, went about the task with enthusiasm.

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