65,000 files in Orgreave police probe

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is deciding whether to launch a formal probe into the clashes between officers and miners during the strike of 1984-5 after referrals made by South Yorkshire Police.

Some 95 miners were prosecuted over clashes on the picket line at Orgreave coking plant, near Rotherham, before being acquitted over flawed evidence.

Television footage and photographs showed miners being beaten with truncheons by police, who claimed they were attacked first by the miners picketing the plant.

An IPCC spokesman said staff had been finding the locations of relevant documents and preparing plans for “conducting a complex scoping exercise”.

The aim is to determine what specific allegations have been made and which, if any, warrant investigation.

The spokesman said: “We know there are at least 65 boxes of documents, with an estimate of 1,000 documents per box, in an archive in Sheffield.

“In addition we are aware of additional documentation covering the various legal cases that have been conducted.

“This creates a huge, complex logistical exercise, especially for an organisation with limited resources like the IPCC.”

South Yorkshire Police referred themselves to the IPCC after a BBC documentary about Orgreave was aired in November.

The IPCC has since been “assessing allegations that police officers may have committed criminal and misconduct offences”.