After 40 years, an independent inquiry on the Battle of Orgreave has been launched by the government.
Orgreave is still remembered as one of the worst moments of the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike, where police officers and miners went head to head outside a coking plant in Rotherham.
After tensions rose, 120 people were injured and 95 picketers were arrested and charged with riot and violent disorder. All charges were later dropped.
The inquiry will be led by Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev Dr Pete Wilcox, who will act as the chair and investigate the events that led to this day and its aftermath on Monday 18 June 1984.
He said, “The Orgreave inquiry was a government manifesto commitment to ensure the truth about the events at Orgreave comes to light.”
Rev Dr Wilcox will be supported by a four-person panel, who will be expected to report by Spring 2028. They will focus on creating a full picture of that day, so that the public can finally know the truth.
Minister of State for Policing and Crime, Sarah Jones MP, said: “They place transparency at the very heart of the panel’s work.”
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign have been campaigning for an inquiry since 2015, they have said that despite being happy that the truth will come out, “we are disappointed that it has taken so long”.
The chair of Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, Chris Hockney said: “The inquiry panel and resources committed to this inquiry will establish truth and justice.”
John Dunn, a striking miner who was assaulted by the police and arrested on a Derbyshire picket line, said about the inquiry: “The injustice faced by us miners and our communities has never been acknowledged by the state and instead they and the media have lied and covered it up.”
The General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, Chris Kitchen said: “Our hope is that once the truth has been brought to light, those directly and indirectly affected can finally start to move on.”
Photo credit – “Sheffield Pride March 2017” by Tim Dennell