Campaigners for the inquiry into Orgreave claim police behavior towards protesters has not improved since the 1984 miners' strike. They point to recent events, including the handling of protests in London, as evidence of persistent issues. The Home Office and police redefined acceptable policing methods in the early 1980s, allowing for aggressive tactics against protesters that have not been revoked. Campaigners emphasize the political motivation behind policing actions and warn of repeated injustices as police continue to act as state agents.
Basically, they are there as agents of the state, and we end up seeing it time after time after time. And there will be further injustices perpetrated because the police do what they do.
Under the government of Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s, the Home Office and senior police officers created a secret tactical manual that redefined what could be considered reasonable force when it came to protesters.
These additional unprecedented powers, described as paramilitary tactics, have still not been repealed, despite never having parliamentary approval.
I think the issue is when policing gets political, and the policing at Orgreave was politically led. I think that's an important point to make.
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