Following last night's "plebgate" revelations, Andrew Mitchell's supporters have moved swiftly to demand that, if cleared, he is returned to government. On the Today programme, former Tory leader Michael Howard said that he was "appalled" by Mitchell's treatement and that he should be brought back "at the earliest possible opportunity". Given Howard's status as David Cameron's political patron, it will be hard for the Prime Minister to ignore his intervention. On the same programme, David Davis called for Mitchell, who ran his 2005 Conservative leadership campaign, to be returned to "high office", adding that he was a "fantastic international development secretary".

Vince Cable, however, sounded a cautionary note when he told Sky News that such talk was "premature". It should not be forgotten that Mitchell has admitted to swearing at the police ("I thought you guys were supposed to fucking help us"), an act that Boris Johnson suggested should be an arrestable offence. At the time of the original incident, the Mayor commented: "If I read the papers correctly there was a proposal to arrest Mr Mitchell for what he said. That seems to be wholly commonsensical. The Public Order Act does allow for police officers' discretion in this matter. They have obviously decided not to go ahead with it. But it shows the gravity of this offence."

But Mitchell's supporters will contend that had he not been accused of referring to the police as "fucking plebs" (words he has consistently denied using), he would still be in his post. If the police investigation corroborates Mitchell's version of events, it will be hard for Cameron not to offer some recompense.