Battle of Orgreave inquiry will follow evidence 'without fear or favour', Policing Minister pledges
The Battle of Orgreave statutory inquiry will follow evidence “without fear or favour” over the violence meted out by police on striking mineworkers, the Policing Minister has said, as the investigation was formally launched.
Sarah Jones told The Yorkshire Post that criminal proceedings could be brought following the formal inquiry - which is expected to last around two years - but that would be the decision of the panel, chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Peter Wilcox.
The Government said miners and campaigners will finally get the answers they deserve as the investigation started into events outside the Orgreave Coking Plant in South Yorkshire on June 18, 1984 – which left scores of mineworkers injured.
There were 95 arrests for riot and unlawful assembly, but they were later dropped after police evidence was discredited. Some 120 mineworkers were injured after police, some on horseback, clashed with pickets over several hours.
Images showed police hitting mineworkers with batons and dragging them into police vans.
No officers ever faced criminal or misconduct charges for their actions on the day or for the subsequent collapse of prosecutions over tainted police evidence.
Campaigners have been calling for an inquiry for decades, claiming there was a dramatic change in police tactics on that day which they say was directed by the then-Conservative government.
In the terms of reference, published today, the Home Office said the inquiry would focus on the planning undertaken by the police and government ahead of the demonstration at Orgreave.
It would also look at what happened on the day and the aftermath, including the prosecutions which collapsed after police evidence was discredited.
It is also expected to assess previous allegations that police may have committed perjury with this.
The inquiry will be chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Rev Dr Peter Wilcox, and panel members include Dr Joanna Gilmore, a senior lecturer in law at the University of York.
Ms Jones told this paper: “I’ve met with the campaigners on a number of occasions and it has been a humbling experience.
“We wanted to make sure that, as much as possible, we are giving them the confidence that after decades of the state saying no - we set up something that works.
“The basic principle behind having a statutory inquiry of this kind is that the Bishop and his panel can go after any information they want and need.
“They can follow the evidence without fear or favour wherever it takes them.”
Rev Dr Wilcox said: “I wish to help resolve a trauma that persists to this day – for the miners who were injured at Orgreave, who were arrested, who feel their story has not yet been fully told, for their families and communities, and for the relationship between police and the mining community.”
Chris Kitchen, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, said the NUM supported the inquiry and appointments, commenting: “Our hope is that once the truth has been brought to light, those directly and indirectly affected can finally start to move on.”
Mayor Oliver Coppard said he was pressing the Government to fully fund the inquiry as “the cost of justice should never fall on the people of South Yorkshire alone”.
He added: “We owe it to the miners, to their families, and to our communities to ensure their voices are heard.
“My hope is that the Inquiry moves at pace and delivers the clarity, accountability, and sense of justice that has been denied for far too long.”
The MP representing Orgreave, Rotherham’s Sarah Champion, said: “Those who were at Orgreave deserve acknowledgement that the smears levelled at them in the years since were just that.
“A lingering distrust continues to cast a shadow over relations between the South Yorkshire Police and the community it serves.
“This cannot be rebuilt until the full story is brought into the light. Above all, my constituents deserve to know the truth about their police force, and indeed the Government of the time.”
Normanton and Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett added: “The inquiry is welcome, but it must deliver lasting justice for striking miners and their families. That means pardons and financial compensation for all miners convicted during the dispute.
“The inquiry should also be allowed to examine police conduct across the country during the strike. Anything less would be a letdown of the mining communities who suffered so badly at the hands of the Thatcher government.”
A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to supporting the Orgreave Inquiry. Before it was announced, we had started working towards publishing materials held by the force relating to Orgreave and the wider miners’ strike, and we hope this work aids the team.”