On the naughty step: Mitchell dragged in to meet Police Federation

Andrew Mitchell is to meet with representatives of the Police Federation, as he tries to draw a line under his "pleb" outburst outside Downing Street.

The meeting with the Tory chief whip will take place on October 12th and is expected to be a private arrangement.

Mitchell has not confirmed what he said to the police, although he insisted he "did not use the words attributed to me" and apologising for the rant.

There have been a protests outside Mitchell's constituency office in Sutton Coldfield, with off-duty officers wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase 'PC Pleb'.

The incident occurred two weeks ago but has remained in the headlines ever since and become a major headache for the Tories.

Mitchell had been hoping that his apology last week would have been an end to the matter, but his refusal to clarify what he actually said to the policeman prolonged the saga.

Mitchell's outburst occurred when an officer guarding the gates of Downing Street wouldn't let him through the main gate while still on his bicycle.