Retired police officers to be forced to give evidence to new ‘Battle of Orgreave' inquiry
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has announced that a public inquiry will be launched this year to investigate the events surrounding the clashes between police and miners during the pit strike at the Orgreave Coking Plant in South Yorkshire on June 18 1984.
Some 95 picketers were arrested and initially charged with riot and violent disorder, but the case against them collapsed in court amid allegations that South Yorkshire Police had falsified evidence.
Gareth Peirce, who acted as solicitor for some of the picketers, said the charge of riot had been used 'to make a public example of people, as a device to assist in breaking the strike'. Human rights barrister Michael Mansfield called it 'the worst example of a mass frame-up in this country this century'.
The inquiry was a manifesto commitment by Labour and will be statutory with powers to compel people to provide information where necessary, the Home Office said. Anyone who refuses to give evidence could face fines of up to £1,000 and/or six months in jail.
The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev Dr Pete Wilcox, has agreed to chair the inquiry, which the Home Office said was intended to 'aid the public's understanding of how the events on the day, and immediately after, came to pass'.
Ms Cooper said what happened at Orgreave 'cast a shadow over communities in Yorkshire and other mining areas'.
'The violent scenes and subsequent prosecutions raised concerns that have been left unanswered for decades, and we must now establish what happened,' the Home Secretary said.
'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 closest parallel is the public inquiry into the Hillsborough football tragedy, after which two senior South Yorkshire police officers and the force's lawyer were prosecuted for perverting the course of justice but acquitted after court ruled it was not a statutory inquiry.
Bishop Wilcox said he was working with the Home Office to agree a terms of reference. '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,' he said.
The Orgreave Truth and 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''.
Kate Flannery, the OTJC secretary, 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.'
Chris Kitchen, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary, 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.'
Oliver Coppard, mayor of South Yorkshire, also welcomed the news of the inquiry, saying it 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.'
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