Has Mitchell’s statement just given the story more “legs”?
Would it have been better to say nothing?
Within the last hour Andrew Mitchell has made a statement on the events that have dogged his party now for three complete news cycles.
He reiterated his original denial about not using the words that were attributed to him and made clear that he would not be resigning.
- So what was the purpose of the breakfast time statement? Mitchell said he wanted to draw a line under the incident yet his move this morning is just going to keep it alive.
Surely Number 10 should have advised that the best course was to do nothing in the hope that the story would subside? It generally does.
As one observer noted – after being accused of saying that policemen are “plebs” he’s now saying that they are liars.