A police officer is facing a criminal charge and he and four colleagues could lose their jobs over the Plebgate row.
PC Keith Wallis is accused of misconduct in public office over claims he sent an email to the deputy chief whip, John Randall, who was his MP, wrongly claiming that he had seen what happened in Downing Street last year.
A row erupted after then-chief whip Andrew Mitchell became involved in a heated confrontation with an officer after he was refused permission to cycle through the main gate. He admitted swearing but denied the officer’s claim that he had used the word pleb.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said that Wallis and four other colleagues will face gross misconduct proceedings over the row, meaning they could be sacked.
Mr Mitchell staged a fightback after the Downing Street incident, alleging that he was victim to attempts to “toxify” his career.
However, prosecutors said that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy against him, and no conclusive proof that either his account or the officer’s account of what was said was correct.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges against the officer at the gate, or a fellow constable who leaked an email giving his account of what had happened.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said: “We have considered all of the evidence in this case, including previously unseen, unedited CCTV footage from Downing Street, not referred to by the media.
“Taking it all into account, including the accounts of the officer at the gate and that of Andrew Mitchell MP before, during and after the incident, we have found that there is insufficient evidence to show that the officer at the gate lied in his account.
The CPS has also found that there is insufficient evidence to show that Mr Mitchell was the victim of a conspiracy of misinformation.”
Lawyers found that a jury would be likely to decide that leaking the email was in the public interest. Wallis is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on December 16.