I WISH to congratulate Paul Morley for his excellent letter (Comparison is insult to people of Ukraine, April 21 and online) in which he compares the the legal and peaceful marches with the illegal criminal tactics of protesters with their sole intention of causing yobbish mayhem to prevent our citizens of going about their lawful business.
Mr Morley makes praising mention of the Liberty and Livelihood March aka The Countryside March which took place in London in 2002 and one of the many marches he had to police as a serving officer. He makes no mention of the numbers of marchers who came from all corners of Great Britain to show support for all those whose livelihood depended on farming and rural pursuits, but the actual number of attenders was not 100, not 1,000 but 407, 791.
Every single person was registered which ensured a trouble free day, and the event amazed and transformed London as confirmed by traders, pub landlords, tube staff etc, and all because everybody was so polite.
One policeman who was offered a ham sandwich said it came as a most welcome surprise as the yob brigades only wanted to throw bombs at them.
It was indeed a very memorable day, sadly and unlikely to be repeated.
Robert Hall
Thornton-in-Craven
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