Anger at 1984 strike ‘injustice’ still burning

A series of events will be held by miners, their families, supporters and union activists in the coming weeks, while the anger and bitterness which characterised the dispute will be re-kindled.

The strike started in Yorkshire in early March 1984 but soon escalated, with thousands of police officers drafted into Nottinghamshire, which became a battleground as some miners continued to work. The dispute pitted Mrs Thatcher’s government against the NUM and its fiery president Arthur Scargill.

Recent revelations in papers released by the National Archives that Margaret Thatcher secretly considered calling out the troops at the height of the strike has heightened the belief that a full-blown inquiry should be held.

Labour MP Ian Lavery, a former president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), has tabled an early day motion in Parliament, which “regrets that nearly 30 years after the strike ended, there are still men who were wrongly arrested or convicted during the dispute, who have never received justice”.

Mr Lavery said he would continue pressing for an inquiry into the events of 30 years ago.

He said: “People who live in great mining communities across the UK have not forgotten the strike and they will never forget.”

Villages still split: Page 5