Senior police have hit back after the Home Secretary insisted three officers should have faced misconduct hearings for lying about a meeting with MP Andrew Mitchell.
An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report questioned the "honesty and integrity" of Inspector Ken MacKaill, Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones.
Home Secretary Theresa May agreed with the watchdog that West Mercia Police had been "quite wrong" not to take disciplinary action against the trio.
They are accused of lying about what chief whip Andrew Mitchell said in a private meeting about the so-called 'Plebgate' affair last year.
Chief Constable David Shaw, of West Mercia Police, has been summoned to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the issue.
However, in a joint statement with police in Warwickshire and the West Midlands, the force defended its handling of the case.
"Andrew Mitchell MP has never made a complaint to police," it said.
Theresa May said the IPCC statement made "troubling reading" "West Mercia, with the support of West Midlands and Warwickshire Police, recognising the public interest in this case, independently decided to investigate this incident and made a referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
"We asked for the matter to be independently investigated by the IPCC because we recognise the significant public interest in the matter, however this was declined.
"The IPCC have supervised this investigation throughout and have been invited to reconsider their position on more than one occasion.
"The decisions following this investigation were carefully considered, with the support of appropriate legal advice.
"Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands Police have separately considered the findings of the investigation and all three forces agree on the outcome."
West Mercia police commissioner Bill Longmore expressed surprise about comments by IPCC deputy chairwoman Deborah Glass and said he was seeking an urgent meeting with Mrs May.
"Given the critical statement which the IPCC deputy chair has made in the last few hours, I am frankly surprised the IPCC did not resume conduct of the investigation," he said.
"They certainly had the power to do so."
The chairman of the Police Federation, Steven Williams, also questioned the intervention by Ms Glass.
"My concern is that by releasing her personal view that she disagrees with the findings of the West Mercia investigation, she displays a lack of independence," he wrote in a letter to Mrs May.
Mr Mitchell met Mr MacKaill, Mr Hinton and Mr Jones, federation representatives of West Mercia, Warwickshire and the West Midlands respectively, on October 12 to "clear the air".
A transcript shows Mr Mitchell apologised for swearing at the police officers but denied using the word "plebs".
In comments made after the meeting, Mr MacKaill claimed the former Tory chief whip would not provide an account of the incident.
Giving evidence to MPs, Mrs May said: "The IPCC statement makes troubling reading.
"If it is indeed the case that warranted police officers behaved in the way Deborah Glass has described, that's not acceptable at all."
Asked if the chief constable of West Mercia Police should apologise to Mr Mitchell, Mrs May said: "I think that would be appropriate."
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