Thanks. My parents were CND campaigners; I've heard stories.

I don't want to make out in my post that I don't have respect for the police. In my all non-protest-related dealings with the police they have been individually at least courteous and civil. My impression is that some of the more recent developments are institutional and top-down. As I hope I said with the above, it was the group tactics rather than the individual conduct which was the most intimidating. Myself, I didn't directly experience any violence or thuggishness, but it was the speed and sort-of-paramilitary coordination of the riot police, their unwillingness to engage that was intimidating. This was clearly a tactic — something they'd been trained in and instructed to do — rather than individual "bad-apple" conduct. That and their focus on breaking up the protest and "defending" Virgin Health rather than protecting the rights of the peaceful protesters (as they should), all point towards problems at the top rather than the bottom. At least that's how I see it.

Other people there had different viewpoints, so I encourage different views (or perhaps even some jounalism?!) but I can only go by what I saw. I've tried to keep things as true to my memory as possible, and not let fears at what may have been cloud it.