Latest news with #OrgreaveTruthAndJustice
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Police behaviour at protests not changed since Orgreave, say activists
Police behaviour with protesters has not changed since the miners' strike, campaigners for the newly announced inquiry into Orgreave have said, as they warned of potential 'further injustices'. Speaking at a press conference after Labour revealed it would hold a statutory inquiry into violent policing at the picket, the Orgreave Truth and Justice campaign said lessons had not been learned since that day 41 years ago. 'We look now at all the demonstrations, the rallies, the peaceful protests that are going on all the way through [history, since Orgreave] and happening now … if you look at what happened at Sarah Everard, if you look at what's happening now in London on the Palestinian demos, if you look at what happens behind the scenes on ordinary pickets, police behaviour [has not changed],' said Chris Hockney, one of the campaigners. 'Basically, they are there as agents of the state, and we end up seeing it time after time after time. And there will be further injustices perpetrated because the police do what they do.' Under the government of Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s, the Home Office and senior police officers created a secret tactical manual that redefined what could be considered 'reasonable force' when it came to protesters. For example, it allowed mounted police charges into static crowds and the use of short shields and truncheons to 'incapacitate' non-violent protesters. These additional unprecedented powers, described as 'paramilitary' tactics, have still not been repealed, despite never having parliamentary approval. Another campaigner, Chris Peace, added: 'I think the issue is when policing gets political, and the policing at Orgreave was politically led. I think that's an important point to make.' The clash between police and striking miners on 18 June 1984 at the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire represented a 'turning point', they said, into the police's use of force to shut down protest. While Thatcher maintained that the government had not interfered in policing of the miners' strike, various Home Office documents have since revealed extensive active interference, including influencing, directing and financially supporting the police in their actions against striking miners. Speaking before the press conference, the mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, said the police were under 'completely new' leadership in South Yorkshire compared with the days of the strike. 'I'm conscious that in South Yorkshire and across this country we have any number of challenges when it comes to policing protests, because these things are always difficult. But I think what we saw on the day at Orgreave was a million miles away from the way in which protest is policed now.' He added that the Orgreave inquiry was important 'because we need the truth and we need accountability and we need justice to be done'. However, police in South Yorkshire were not as welcoming, with the Police Federation stating that local operations were already at 'breaking point'. The chair of the police-staffing association in South Yorkshire, Steven Kent, said: 'Courageous colleagues are out there keeping the public safe struggling with what feels like one arm tied behind their backs as government cutbacks to the service hit home. 'This will be long and protracted – and the associated costs of this inquiry will lead to there being even less money in the policing purse, which will only have a negative impact on the public of South Yorkshire.' One of the 95 miners arrested at Orgreave, the campaigner Kevin Horne, said the inquiry would not 'make the wrong thing right', but that it could help mining communities 'get back to something normal again'. He said: 'We have this chance now of wiping the slate clean so that our children and grandchildren can respect the police again.'
Sky News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Inquiry launched to 'uncover truth' behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners' strike
A new public inquiry will "uncover the truth" behind the so-called "Battle of Orgreave", a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s. One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire. Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting. Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating. In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional "frame-up". "There were so many lies," says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, "and it's a real historic moment to get to this stage." "There's a lot of information already in the public domain," she adds, "but there's still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light." Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence. Campaigners say some involved have been left with "physical and psychological damage", but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry. Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to "make sure" campaigners now got "proper answers". "We've obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years," Ms Cooper says, "and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward." The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox. "I'm really happy," says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, "but why has it took so long?" "A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they'll never get to see any outcome." Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site. "It wasn't frightening to start off with," Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, "but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned." "And it wasn't just one truncheon," says Mr Parkinson, "there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated - just boom, boom, boom, boom. "And there's lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they'd done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket." In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families. But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day's events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath. "We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police," says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, "and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve. "Obviously, we've had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page."
Sky News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Orgreave inquiry launched to 'uncover truth' behind clashes at 1984 miners' strike
A new public inquiry will "uncover the truth" behind the so-called "Battle of Orgreave", a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s. One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire. Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting. Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating. In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional "frame-up". "There were so many lies," says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, "and it's a real historic moment to get to this stage." "There's a lot of information already in the public domain," she adds, "but there's still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light." Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence. Campaigners say some involved have been left with "physical and psychological damage", but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry. Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to "make sure" campaigners now got "proper answers". "We've obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years," Ms Cooper says, "and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward." The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox. "I'm really happy," says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, "but why has it took so long?" "A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they'll never get to see any outcome." Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site. "It wasn't frightening to start off with," Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, "but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned." "And it wasn't just one truncheon," says Mr Parkinson, "there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated - just boom, boom, boom, boom. "And there's lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they'd done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket." In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families. But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day's events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath. "We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police," says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, "and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve. "Obviously, we've had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page."
