"Plebgate" - A waste of time and money

The "Plebgate" affair rumbles on and on. I suppose the only thing about it is that the name is appropriate as it involves plebs at the gates!
To me it is a total waste of time, money and resources - just look at what is involved

1. A team of 30 Scotland Yard officers is investigating whether there was a conspiracy against Mr Mitchell
2. All 800 members of the DPG (Diplomatic Protection Group) have been told to submit sworn statements
3. So far four serving police officers have been arrested and charged with various offences such as misconduct in public office.

The investigation, code named  Operation Alice (in Wonderland ?) had cost £82,500 in staffing costs alone as at 16th January, but estimates suggest that it will be at least double that figure by the time that it is passed to the CPS. I know the police are supposed to be whiter than white, but then so are our "Honourable Members", and whilst the exact words used are not known, Mr Mitchell has admitted that he swore at the police officers on duty at Downing Street. The fact that an unimportant spat was allowed to escalate to the extent that it did is beyond belief. Certainly it reflects no credit on the senior police officer on duty or the prime minister's office.

Also in the news today is the sentencing of a female Detective Chief Inspector for having offered information to the News of the World concerning the phone hacking enquiry. Her defence was that she wanted to draw attention to the way that the resources had been removed from the anti-terrorist branch to staff the phone hacking enquiry. As she was nearing retirement and there was no evidence that she needed money, I must admit that I'm inclined to accept what she said. Whilst there are only 40 officers looking into plebgate, there were hundreds involved in the phone hacking enquiries, and there is no doubt that other departments will have suffered as a result of staff being seconded to these enquiries. If I had been a senior officer in the anti-terrorist branch, I'm sure that I would have been very concerned, but hopefully would have found a better way of expressing those concerns.

Let Alice in Wonderland continue!