Scargill was a very vocal opponent of Thatcher 's Conservative government , frequently appearing on television to attack it . On the appointment of Ian MacGregor as head of the NCB in 1983 , Scargill stated , " The policies of this government are clear – to destroy the coal industry and the NUM " . However , Scargill 's statements in the years after becoming NUM president divided left-wing opinion with his support of Soviet Communism , most notably when he refused to support the TUC 's positions on the Solidarity union in Poland or on the Soviet shooting of the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 . One branch of the NUM , at Annesley in Nottinghamshire , put forward a vote of no confidence in Scargill in Autumn 1983 following his comments on these matters , but Scargill defeated this at a December meeting and won a vote of confidence instead
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Arthur Scargill