So the Tories, and most of those who vote for them, are excercised with social position, class and snobbery. So what else is new ?. However, Mitchell is wrong on one count. It´s not him and the other tossers lodged in Parliement that govern the country. Rather it´s his bankster mates in the City and on the boards of large corporations that do so.

can't the british grow up? an obnoxious Tory toff berates a squad of (probably) self-important policemen and uses bad language like any Tory toff might in a tantrum, and the whole nation is in uproar for days; the greatest insult seems to be calling the policemen 'plebs' rather than 'effing plebs'; the police see their chance to insist that the public must respect them under compulsion, on pain of death, as of law! Hogan-Howe ('total policing' ayatollah) weighs in in the same spirit, hurt perhaps by the students of LSE who, incensed by his presentation of "Total Policing" chanted "no justice, no peace, f*** the police",; Boris delivers stern warnings in favour of the police (no stranger to the f-word, he needs their support for his own plans). Am i insane, or is the uk really like that? Any animal species follows its species-specific instincts as sure as any tory toff.

As Raymond Chandler put it: "You gotta make aisles pretty wide when you're dealing with big personalities!' [ paraphrasing a leetle ]

Public Dick

I was in the same house at Rugby School as Andrew Mitchell. "Pleb" was most certainly a regularly used word of abuse, uniquely employed to dismiss those outside Tudor House who annoyed.

I never heard it used by those based in other Houses at school. Nor for that matter had I heard the expression again from the time I left , until a few days ago...

As one who has voted Tory most of the last 60 years I am appalled by the present leadership. They appear as the personification of uncaring upper class twits concerned with only one think - to protect their middle class voters by making sure the burden of austerity falls on lower income voters who will never vote for them come hell or hgh water. To have contempt for those less fortunate than yourself is basic human nature but to show it in dealing with those who protect your priveleges is downright stupid. If Andrew Mitchell survives this indescretion the party will pay a high cost because it shows his attitude is seen as acceptable by its leaders.

Mitchell is not only an abusive, lying thug, he also stashes loads of cash overseas, which should be paid to the treasury. So in fact, he's an abusive, lying, fraudulent thug.
I am utterly bemused as to why he wasn't arrested, like you or I would have been and he still resides in high office.
If Cameron thinks this is okay, then we have to question his judgement, as this will damage his party.
Hope Letterman tears Cameron apart later.
Just a thought, while Cameron is leaving on a jet plane, with no wind-down windows, do you not think that Mitchell looks like John Denver?

Of course, he would say that, just look at him at PMQ's, always proping the PM.
I have no interest in him and i hope that his constituents will sort him out at the next election, the scotish are not daft, surely they have some suprises for him.

I don't see why Danny Alexander is reluctant to cash in on easy political capital. Though it is undoubtedly not the morally high-minded posture to take - would his coalition partners have been so reserved if presented with the same opportunity? Unlikely.

Furthermore, what is slightly predictable but annoying is this idea that it is something of a 'revelation' that Mitchell is elitist; or the subsequent fact that he should be given the opportunity to wriggle out of this situation ("I want to be absolutely clear about what I said [by not repeating what I said]"). It exhibits the futile obsession with nominal protocol that plagues British politics and journalism. I was at law school with plenty of public school types like Mitchell, and though not always malicious, it was almost beyond question that many felt themselves to be elite. Big deal, what else is new? Just because they don't talk about it (as a matter of discipline around us 'plebs'), it hardly makes it news when they mistakenly do; it is merely the shattering of a nominal veneer that we all knew to be there.

In many respects this is just as nominal as the apology that Mitchell has been allowed to make (allowed by his own government and bewilderingly, by the cabinet secretary) - even when Police logs are published evidencing a contrary story. Once again, we all know what the truth is, but we are forced to sit back whilst it is covered with a fresh coat of protocol-based veneer. After all, let's just draw a line under it right? If I swore at a copper I doubt that would happen.

Personally, I don't think it is massive news that a Tory is elitist; as all of their attempts to dissuade us of this fact are (as I am trying to stress here) at best, paper thin and depressingly impermanent. However, if we decide to make news of it, we can't let Mitchell off the hook with what I would regard to be a nominal type of apology - and Lib Dems like Alexander should be quick to highlight this.

Sorry for the unintentional repeats..its not that I am the BBC or Dave

Is it possible to smell a rotting fish in a pile of S*it?????

C'mon, Chaps; let's be fair. It's pretty obvious Andy meant to say 'jobsworth'. 'Plebs' may be the Latinate version but isn't 'jobsworth' the favourite pejorative term on Tory lips when referring to officialdom. {You speak to your Mater with that mouth?}
Of course the Aussies use the term 'bogan' in a most derogatory manner when referring to rich b*******.
Where's a good sociolinguist when you need one? Surprised some smart editor hasn't smuggled one into the best pubic schools. [ Sub-ed misspelling ].

Pub(l)ic Servant