Lesson plan
Plebgate
, member of parliament for Sutton Coldfield, who was involved in the scandal "Plebgate" (also known as "Plodgate" and "Gategate" ) was a British political scandal which started in September 2012. The trigger was an altercation between Conservative MP and Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and police officers on duty outside Downing Street in London. Leaked police logs, later apparently backed up by eyewitness evidence, suggested that Mitchell had sworn at police officers and called them "plebs" (a pejorative word meaning someone of low social class) when they refused to open the main gate for him as he attempted to leave with his bicycle, telling him to walk through the adjacent pedestrian gate instead. Mitchell apologised, stating that he had used bad language but denied using the words claimed and in particular calling police officers "plebs". However, finding his position untenable amid intense media scrutiny, he resigned from the post of Chief Whip a month later. The story returned to the headlines a few months later when CCTV footage threw into doubt the police version of events. Further, evidence originally included an email from a member of the public confirming the police's story. It was revealed this email was actually sent by a serving police officer who had not been present at the scene. The Metropolitan Police investigated the incident as Operation Alice.…
Article summary
, member of parliament for Sutton Coldfield, who was involved in the scandal "Plebgate" (also known as "Plodgate" and "Gategate" ) was a British political scandal which started in September 2012. The trigger was an altercation between Conservative MP and Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and police officers on duty outside Downing Street in London. Leaked police logs, later apparently backed up by eyewitness evidence, suggested that Mitchell had sworn at police officers and called them "plebs" (a pejorative word meaning someone of low social class) when they refused to open the main gate for him as he attempted to leave with his bicycle, telling him to walk through the adjacent pedestrian gate instead. Mitchell apologised, stating that he had used bad language but denied using the words claimed and in particular calling police officers "plebs". However, finding his position untenable amid intense media scrutiny, he resigned from the post of Chief Whip a month later. The story returned to the headlines a few months later when CCTV footage threw into doubt the police version of events. Further, evidence originally included an email from a member of the public confirming the police's story. It was revealed this email was actually sent by a serving police officer who had not been present at the scene. The Metropolitan Police investigated the incident as Operation Alice.…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.