LONDON — In class-conscious Britain, a Cabinet minister is in trouble over a four-letter word: “pleb.” The single syllable was reportedly not the most profane part of Andrew Mitchell's tirade at police officers who asked him to get off his bicycle as he passed through the gates of Downing Street. But it is the most incendiary — a pejorative term for the working class with a whiff of contempt that is bad news for a government often characterized as elitist. Class distinctions are the great elephant in the room in British society, ever-present but rarely discussed. It's a topic that proves a minefield for any politician keen to appeal to a wide range of voters. And the four-letter clanger attributed to Mitchell lands as a thudding reminder that class is still a potent and divisive aspect of British life. Last week's altercation between the minister and police officers guarding the approach to the prime minister's residence has been seized on by the media and political opposition and escalated into a political tempest with its own title: “Gategate.” Mitchell on Monday apologized for the incident, in which — according to press reports — he told the officers “Best you learn your (expletive) place. You don't run this (expletive) government. You're (expletive) plebs.” The Metropolitan Police force has not officially confirmed the account, but says it has launched an investigation into how internal police information was leaked to the press. Mitchell conceded that he had lost his temper at “the end of a long and extremely frustrating day.” “I didn't show the police the amount of respect I should have done,” Mitchell said. But, he added: “I want to make it absolutely clear that I did not use the words that have been attributed to me.” Mitchell's reported word choice is a blow to attempts by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led administration to downplay its image as a privileged club. Pleb — short for plebeian — comes from the Latin plebeius, the mass of ordinary citizens apart from the elite of upper-class patricians. The “pleb” controversy is another unfortunate reminder of Britain's class divide for a government that's currently slashing welfare benefits and public sector pensions as part of 50 billion pounds ($80 billion) in spending cuts. — AP
