Plegbate: the mysterious email that brought down a minister "It was obviously wrong of me to use such bad language and I am very sorry about it," he said. This week, the storm blew up again with two disclosures by Channel Four News. The first concerns a third police officer, a member of the unit that guards Downing Street. At 9.52pm on Sept 20, the day after the gate incident, this third officer sent an email to John Randall, the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and the party's deputy chief whip. He passed it on to No 10 on Sept 24. The email purported to be from a resident of the constituency who had been passing Downing Street with a nephew, sightseeing, at the time of the incident recorded in the police log. The email's account of Mr Mitchell's words differs only slightly from the police log, suggesting that he shouted at the officers: "You f------ plebs!!" and "You think you run the f------ country." In the email, the third officer does not disclose that he is a police officer. When Mr Randall questioned the email's author, the man is also said to have withheld his occupation. Some accounts suggest he told Mr Randall he was "a driver." Why this third officer acted as he did remains unclear. He was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. Mr Mitchell's advocates say the fact that one police officer may have behaved improperly in describing the incident casts doubt on the log of the two other officers. As yet no connection has been demonstrated between the officer who sent the email, and the officers who wrote the log. An internal police inquiry is searching for such a connection. The officers involved have not changed their stories and their superiors say the log remains the official account of the incident. The second piece of evidence put in the public domain this week is CCTV footage of the incident. Friends of Mr Mitchell suggest that the silent footage casts further doubt on the police log, saying that it does not show the "shocked" members of the public. No 10 has had access to the footage since this storm broke, but failed to usee it in defence of Mr Mitchell. Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, judged the film inconclusive. Some facts remain unchallenged. Mr Mitchell denies using the word "pleb" but admits swearing at police officers. This is something that some voters will find unacceptable regardless of all else. What remains unclear is whether police officers also erred. And if they did, will their wrongdoings be enough to outweigh Mr Mitchell's, and tip the political balance back in his favour?