A picture of police officers talking to a miner in a toy helmet – a defining image of the 1984 miners’ strike – was used above a headline “South Yorkshire delivers the verdict on its shamed police force” (News, last week, page 7). However, the picture showed constables from Kent deployed at the Orgreave coking works at the time – not officers from South Yorkshire. The article recalled a 1963 police brutality inquiry and said the force’s leadership was involved, adding: “More than 50 years later, another chief constable of South Yorkshire police has been forced to step down.” South Yorkshire police were not established until 1974; the force at the time was Sheffield City police.
Our walking guide to Cardiff last week mentioned Cardiff Castle’s “animal wall” “along which realistic sketches of amazing animals were painted in the 19th century”. The wall features sculptures, not sketches. The error was ours, not the author’s (“Best foot forward”. In Focus, last week, page 30).
“Nearly three quarters of Britons expect rapid decline in NHS, survey finds” (News, last week, page 12) omitted polling details. Populus interviewed just over 1,000 adults in six European countries between 16 and 30 March.
Write to Stephen Pritchard, Readers’ Editor, the Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, email observer.readers@observer.co.uk tel 020 3353 4656
