Only nasty people want to see a person’s career shredded and whatever your politics, Andrew Mitchell cuts a rather sorry figure today. His reputation is tarnished beyond political repair and the finding by the judge that he probably used the ‘p’ word is damning.
That an altercation about which gate to use lasting seconds can have such a string of consequences is astonishing. The police did not handle the aftermath well at any level and one even ended up in prison. Mitchell seemed to be emerging quite well, then he decided on this calamitous libel action. What will really rile people who find it hard to make ends meet, is the fact that he can afford to blow up to £3 million on lawyers over his loss off temper. It is very bad politics for the Tories which will rub off on all the others except UKIP.