Letter: Blue line

As well as ignoring the flying pickets and rent-a-mobs of the miner's strike, as pointed out by your correspondent (3 August), Martha Gellhorn also ignored the overmanned, unbadged and unnumbered police cohorts billeted in the ex-army camp at double overtime, for training in handling mass protests by charging at miners. These miners had been told that the possible closure of 22 pits was scaremongering. I am not surprised there are no Tory MPs left in any previous colliery area.

There was a good case for reducing the industry but not to the extent that occurred. And whatever the issue really was, it had nothing to do with preventing pollution - nor mining coal for that matter.

Ralph Gee

Nottingham