David Cameron condemns Chief whip Andrew Mitchell's police officer 'rant' Speaking on a visit to Greater Manchester Police headquarters in the wake of the murders of Pcs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, Mr Cameron said Andrew Mitchell's behaviour had been "wrong" and "inappropriate," but stressed he had apologised. The comments came after police groups and Labour questioned whether Mr Mitchell could hang on to his job after details emerged of the confrontation, which happened a day after the two Manchester officers were killed. According to The Sun, the MP reacted angrily after being told he was not allowed to cycle out of Downing Street. He apparently branded the officers "plebs" for not letting him use the main gates and said they should "learn your f****** place." Mr Mitchell, who became chief whip in the reshuffle earlier this month, has denied using some of the reported language but apologised for not treating the police with proper respect. Asked if he would stand by Mr Mitchell or sack him, Mr Cameron said: "What Andrew Mitchell said and what he did was not appropriate. It was wrong and it is right that he has apologised. He has obviously apologised to me, but more importantly he has apologised thoroughly to the police and that needed to be done. Police do an outstanding job across our country. They do a very important job protecting places like Number 10 Downing Street and I am very conscious of the protection they give to me and my family and the work they do for everyone in public life. I am eternally grateful for that and the police should always have our respect and our help and support and that is very, very important. Mr Mitchell made a personal apology to the officer involved by telephone this morning as he tried to limit the damage from the episode. A Cabinet Office spokesman said the officer had accepted Mr Mitchell's apology. No formal complaint has been filed over the politician's behaviour. The MP apparently pulled out of a speaking engagement in Reading today as news of the row broke. The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents rank-and-file officers, said it was "hard to fathom how someone who holds the police in such contempt could be allowed to hold a public office." Paul McKeever, the federation's chairman, said: "Mr Mitchell's half-hearted apology for the comments made whilst leaving Downing Street will do little to build bridges with the police, who feel they have once again been treated with a lack of respect and civility by members of this Government. The lack of regard that some within Government appear to hold police officers in is especially disappointing during this tragic week for the service and does nothing for the rock bottom morale of officers in this country. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper dubbed the reported outburst an "utter disgrace," and questioned how Mr Mitchell could do the job of chief whip if he could not keep his temper in check. These are appalling reports. No one should treat police officers or public servants in this way," she said. And the idea that a Cabinet minister could behave like this towards police officers doing their job is an utter disgrace. It tells you all you need to know about this out-of-touch Government and its attitude to public servants. Downing Street clearly have a lot of questions to answer. They must make clear exactly what happened, including what was said and whether the deeply offensive language reported was used. How can a chief whip hope to do his job or instil respect when he behaves like this and can't even keep his cool? Former Conservative Party chairman Lord Tebbit denounced Mr Mitchell's comments as "extraordinarily stupid" and urged Mr Cameron to have a "heart-to-heart talk" with his new chief whip. The Prime Minister must be worried that the pressure on Mr Mitchell might be "more than he can take," suggested the Tory peer. Writing in his blog for the Daily Telegraph website, Lord Tebbit said: "I can only assume that something must have been bugging the new chief whip, as there can be no other explanation for losing his temper in such a silly way. Both because I respect the police service and because, at times, I have had to depend very much upon it, I hope I would never fall into that trap myself - however short my temper can be. The worry for the Prime Minister must be that the pressures on Mr Mitchell look to be slightly more than he can take. They should have a heart-to-heart talk before very long. Millionaire Mr Mitchell last night denied using the language but apologised to the officers. He said: "On Wednesday night I attempted to leave Downing Street via the main gate, something I have been allowed to do many times before. You don't run this f****** Government. You're f****** plebs," it reported him as saying. The Labour chair of the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee recalled that London Mayor Boris Johnson has called for people who swear at the police to be arrested. Joanne McCartney, who speaks on crime for Labour at City Hall, said: "The comments by Mr Mitchell are completely unacceptable. The police keep us safe, working in often difficult conditions. At last year's Conservative Party conference, the Mayor of London said that anybody who swears at a police officer should be arrested: 'If people swear at the police, they must expect to be arrested. Not just because it's wrong to expect officers to endure profanities, but it's also because of the experience of the culprits. If people feel there are no comebacks, no boundaries and no retribution for the small stuff, then I'm afraid they will go on to commit worse crimes'. Ms McCartney added: "It seems it's one rule for the public and another for those running the country. Perhaps the Prime Minister should do more than accept a simple apology. Ian Edwards, the chair of the West Midlands Police Federation, said his members would treat Mr Mitchell and other Conservatives with "dignity and respect" when they provide security at the party's annual conference in Birmingham next month and that he should behave in the same way towards them. Mr Edwards told BBC News: "There's the Tory Party conference in two weeks and my colleagues will be looking after the security of the conference. They will treat Andrew Mitchell with dignity and respect, and that's how I would expect him to treat my colleagues, rather than abusing them in whatever way he did. He added: "Police officers strive to treat everyone they deal with with respect. We have a discipline code. If I had treated Andrew Mitchell in the way he treated those officers, I would be called to account and certainly my job may be at risk if I'd abused him, if I'd sworn at him, if that is the case. I think that that should go across the board. He is a publicly-elected official who should have standards of behaviour which clearly he hasn't adhered to.