Home Secretary announces inquiry into Battle of Orgreave

ITV News

5 days ago

The Government has announced a public inquiry into a violent confrontation between striking miners and police which became known as the Battle of Orgreave.
Campaigners have long fought for an investigation into the police's actions during and after clashes at the South Yorkshire coking plant on 18 June 1984.
Dozens of people were injured and 95 picketers were arrested and charged with riot and violent disorder, but all charges were later dropped after evidence was discredited.
The inquiry, expected to launch in the autumn, will investigate the events surrounding the incident and will have powers to compel people to provide information where necessary, the Home Office said.
The Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, the Bishop of Sheffield, has agreed to chair the inquiry, which the Home Office said is intended to 'aid the public's understanding of how the events on the day, and immediately after, came to pass'.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said what happened at Orgreave 'cast a shadow over communities in Yorkshire and other mining areas'.
Ms Cooper added: 'The violent scenes and subsequent prosecutions raised concerns that have been left unanswered for decades, and we must now establish what happened.
'I pay tribute to the campaigners who never stopped in their search for truth and justice, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as we build an inquiry that gets the answers they and their communities deserve.'
The Home Office said formal consultation between the Home Secretary and the Rt Revd Wilcox on the inquiry's terms of reference has begun.
The Rt Revd Wilcox said he did not 'underestimate the weight of expectation or the significance of the task'.
He added: 'I look forward to engaging with stakeholders in the coming weeks over the draft terms of reference, and to working with the government to identify experts to support me on the independent panel.
'I expect the panel to begin its work in the autumn, and we will endeavour to deliver an inquiry which is thorough and fair, and which will uncover what happened at Orgreave as swiftly as possible.'
The Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign (OTJC) said it wanted to know who was responsible for 'organising and ordering the deployment of multiple police forces, including mounted police armed with truncheons, shields and dogs, against striking miners'.
The campaign group said it wanted the inquiry to find out how it was decided that 'striking miners should be attacked and arrested at Orgreave and charged with riot and unlawful assembly, which carried heavy prison sentences'.
It added that it wanted to know why 'the police operational order for police deployments that day disappeared and other evidence been destroyed or embargoed until 2066 and 2071'.
OTJC secretary, Kate Flannery, said the announcement of an inquiry was 'really positive news'.
Ms Flannery added: 'We now need to be satisfied that the inquiry is given the necessary powers to fully investigate all the aspects of the orchestrated policing at Orgreave, and have unrestricted access to all relevant information including government, police and media documents, photos and films.'
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary, Chris Kitchen, said the inquiry was 'hugely welcome'.
Mr Kitchen added: 'The events at Orgreave, and throughout the strike, destroyed the trust between the police and mining communities even now, 41 years later.
'It is vital that this trust is won back and the NUM believe this inquiry will go some way to rebuilding that trust.'
Kevin Horne, a miner arrested at Orgreave, said: 'It is now over 41 years since a paramilitary style police operation was planned at Orgreave and it is important to remember that some of the miners attacked and arrested there are now dead and many others are old and ill.
'We need a quick and thorough inquiry with a tight timescale so that surviving miners can at last obtain the truth and justice they have been waiting for.'
Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, said the inquiry was a 'landmark moment for justice and accountability'.
Mr Coppard added: 'The Inquiry represents an opportunity to examine not only the actions of South Yorkshire Police and other forces on that day, but also the broader role of government at the time.
'It's a step towards setting the historical record straight, ensuring lessons are learned, and restoring public trust.'