More to the plebgate row than meets the eye, says police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe But as further details of the police officer's role in the scandal emerged, Mr Hogan-Howe took the unusual step of commenting directly on the decision to make the arrest and hinted that the action was about more than just the leaking of information. The officer had allegedly claimed to have been present when the bad-tempered spat between the former Chief Whip and two armed officers took place in Downing Street on Sept 19. The Commissioner stated that the officer in question was not on duty and simply "wasn't there at the time," casting major doubt on the validity of his allegations. Mr Hogan-Howe also claimed that when the full details of the case became public it would help justify the Met's decision to make the arrest. He said: "There is more to this than meets the eye. I am afraid I am constrained in explaining that and I hope that when people hear the full story they will support what we've done. We got some new information, we acted on it quickly and I hope, in time, when we are able to explain the sequence of events, people understand why we did what we did. Despite questioning the officer's version of events, Mr Hogan-Howe reiterated his support for the two police officers at the centre of the row. He told LBC Radio: "I don't think, in terms of what I've heard up to now, that it's really affected the original account of the officers at the scene. Because, of course, this officer we've arrested wasn't any of those people involved originally. This is another officer who wasn't there at the time. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently supervising the Met's investigation and has confirmed it is looking at the "validity" of the officer's claim that he witnessed the exchange. The unnamed officer, arrested at his home in Middlesex, was questioned and bailed until a date in January. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The arrest is linked to previous inquiries by the MPS as to how internal MPS information was obtained by national newspapers following an incident at Downing Street in September.