Police officers have expressed “widespread dismay” over the damage done to their representative body by the ‘Plebgate’ affair.
That was the finding of a damning review of the Police Federation by the RSA charity.
Its report raised questions about in-fighting and accounts, including nearly £65 million held in reserves.
And it accused some members of being more interested in playing political games than representing members’ interests, particularly in the wake of the Plebgate scandal.
The report went on: “There was widespread dismay, not least from some of the Federation’s supporters, at the damage being done to the Federation and the wider police service by the actions of its local representatives in the Andrew Mitchell affair.”
Some members of the Federation, which represents officers from the rank of constable to inspector, went head-to-head with Sutton Coldfield MP Mr Mitchell after he was involved in a foul-mouthed confrontation with officers in Downing Street in September 2012.
The following month, Insp Ken MacKaill, Det Sgt Stuart Hinton and Sgt Chris Jones were accused of giving misleading accounts of what the former chief whip had said about the incident at a meeting.
The report said the actions of Federation representatives in their dealings with Mr Mithcell highlighted “the extent to which some representatives feel they can pursue local action and campaigns regardless of the impact on the wider Federation and the views of their colleagues”.
