A few weeks ago I pointed out how strange it was that the media wanted to us to judge Tory Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell's row with Downing Street Police in the light of the public service and self-sacrifice of the officers murdered in East Manchester. This at a time when news stories distinctly less flattering to the police were freely available for comparison, not the least being the revelation that the police lied repeatedly over the Hillsborough tragedy. Since then there have been others, for instance the unedifying spectacle of an officer recorded in the back of a police car telling a suspect, "You will always be a nigger".
However the press have finally got their man. On the Radio 4 news tonight - Andrew Mitchell finally resigns.
The next story? About a murder investigation abandoned because of a mistake by a police officer rendering crucial evidence inadmissable.
Yes, the police are corrupt, racist, incompetent, violent and dishonest. Except when it comes to monstering the Chief Whip. Then they are paragons of public service.
