A POLICE officer has remained defiant over his role in the plebgate row as he refused to apologise for distress caused to former Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell.
Sergeant Chris Jones told the Home Affairs Select Committee he regretted distress caused in the aftermath of the original incident, in which Mr Mitchell was accused of launching a foul-mouthed rant at officers outside Downing Street, but fell short of an apology.
However, fellow officer Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton did apologise to Mr Mitchell earlier in the hearing.
Along with Inspector Ken MacKaill, the Police Federation representatives were previously accused of attempting to discredit Mr Mitchell after meeting him in October last year.
The Conservative MP met the three representatives at his Sutton Coldfield constituency office in a bid to clear the air after the Downing Street incident the previous month.
Yesterday Mr Hinton and Mr Jones were hauled back before MPs over apparent inaccuracies in the evidence they gave during a session on October 23.
Despite their public apologies for misleading the committee over their evidence, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) announced it is to investigate both men.
They and Mr MacKaill are already facing potential misconduct proceedings over the accounts they gave of the meeting with the former chief whip.
Reading from a prepared statement, Mr Hinton and Mr Jones told the committee: "Our position so far as our meeting with Mr Mitchell is concerned has not changed.
"While the committee appears to believe, however, that we are indifferent to Mr Mitchell's predicament, and the distress caused to him and his family since the original incident in Downing Street, we are not. Each of us fully recognises and regrets the fact that such distress has been caused"
Mr Jones remained defiant, refusing to apologise. He told the committee: "I can't apologise for something that I haven't done."
Mr Vaz asked him: "You don't want to apologise for any distress?"
Refusing to do so, he replied: "At the moment."
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