No appeal for Orgreave

To my shame my cousin was a police officer. He enjoyed the strike and kept his wallet full of cash which he flashed around to show how profitable it was for him. Worse still he told me that he'd seen Met officers snatching men from the picket lines and breaking their fingers one at a time. He did nothing to stop it and didn't even report it to his superiors. A police officer is supposed to uphold the law not stand around and watch it being broken. I hated him then and I still hate him now. Some things cannot be forgiven or forgotten.

If you think my attitude it OTT the coward also spent twenty years being respectable and a good guy whilst regularly beating up his wife and children. He was and still is scum.

I happen to know ex-miners who at the height of the strike were deliberately taunted by police waving wage packets in their faces and shouting that they were enjoying the massive amounts of overtime. I know miners who had horses ridden into them by police.

We do need to get to the bottom of this although I am not sure whether this would necessitate a "full" public inquiry and the huge costs that will go with this. Can we really trust the police (as a whole)? I agree with VQ that the refusal of any kind of inquiry smells of a cover up.

And when an Orgreave enquiry was first mooted, it was after Hillsborough and it would have to wait till that was finished. Well, now it is. No excuse for not holding it now. If only to make public what anyone anywhere near involved already knows

We have to know our police are accountable and trustworthy. An inquiry would either prove they were or show what actions have been taken/will be taken to make it so. No inquiry means that Orgreave will continue to blight and colour the opinion of people about the police. Although a lot of the corrupt officers who wrote very similar statements will now be retired they should still be investigated. And what about the claims that there were officers with no numbers on their uniforms thereby making them unidentifiable and troops in boiler suits? All that needs to be investigated and either proved or disproved. The refusal of an inquiry is nothing to do with saving money but everything to do with covering up what really happened and the motives of the people in charge.

Hillsborough has taught us that South Yorks.Police could not be trusted in the 1980s. We need to be sure that they and all other forces can be trusted now.

That was my thoughts too trisher and Anniebach no wonder a lot of people have little or no respect for the police. I lived on an estate where almost every other house was a miner and lives were devastated. Imagine if doctors were set upon in his way during their recent strikes?

I am not saying that no-one was at fault at Orgreave, but there is certainly a huge cost involved in a public enquiry requiring the services of well-paid lawyers.

Would we rather the £ millions, or billions even, were spent in this way, or channelled into the NHS or education?

On the Today programme this morning I heard that an MP had suggested that it should be looked at by a Parliamentary Committee as it would be quicker, far cheaper and just as effective at finding out what happened.

I agree. We need to know what actually happened.

Makes you think that as long as no one actually dies the police are bulletproofed.

I certainty didn't expect an enquiry . Good grief, police, politicians, MI5 all involved in the cover up . Because no one died? lives were ruined but that doesn't matter, be hard work covering up the deeds of the blessed Maggie