Met trying to destroy my career says Mitchell

The senior Tory MP has written to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) accusing the Metropolitan Police of a continued campaign to “destroy” his career.

Mr Mitchell took the action after newspaper reports suggested a police file passed to the Crown Prosecution Service contained no evidence that officers lied about his behaviour.

The former chief whip strongly denies calling officers “plebs” during an altercation over their refusal to allow him to ride his bike through the Downing Street gates last year.

And the politician – who quit as chief whip amid the storm over the incident – claims he is the victim of a conspiracy by officers to “toxify” the Tories and blacken his name.

In a letter to IPCC deputy chairman Deborah Glass, he wrote: “We are deeply dismayed that the Metropolitan Police appear to have leaked part of their Report prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to certain members of the Press and spun it to the advantage of the Police officers involved.

“This was an enquiry into a dishonest and illicit attempt to blacken my name and destroy my career. It would appear that this police enquiry continues precisely that process.”

Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, said the latest development showed it was wrong for Scotland Yard to lead the inquiry into its own officers and called for the whole investigation to be taken over by the IPCC.

Scotland Yard is trying to find out how the Sun and Daily Telegraph obtained information about the “Plebgate” row and if it came from police. It is also looking at a police officer’s claim to have witnessed the altercation and allegations by Mr Mitchell that police had lied in a log of the event.

Three officers from the Diplomatic Protection Group have so far been arrested as part of the investigation. All three remain suspended.

Papers related to the case were passed to prosecutors on Thursday, but the CPS said it was not “a full file of evidence” and that it expected more.

Mr Mitchell revealed last week that his lawyers had issued a libel writ against the Sun, which first ran the story.

A spokesman for the newspaper said it stood by its story “and will defend this claim vigorously”.