A long-awaited inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave - one of the most violent episodes of the miners’ strike - has been announced - video Dailymotion

The Star, Sheffield

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper made the announcement during a visit last week to the site of the former Orgreave coking plant, between Handsworth and Catcliffe, where police and striking miners clashed back on June 18, 1984.

Transcript

00:00So it's really important that this inquiry can get to the truth about what

00:04happened at Orgreave. It was over 40 years ago but we put it in Labour's

00:10manifesto because it's so important that we have this full inquiry to get to the

00:14truth and that's why we're announcing the inquiry. We will set out the full

00:19final terms of reference when we've had the opportunity now that we've announced

00:24it to be able to consult the NUM, the Orgreave Truth and Justice campaigners,

00:28other people and particularly the Bishop of Sheffield who has agreed to chair

00:33this inquiry before we publish the final terms of reference but it does need to

00:38include the violent clashes, what happened that day when 120 people were

00:44injured and also the decisions that were made around the prosecutions and also the

00:50way in which obviously we saw the prosecutions collapse as a result of

00:54discredited evidence. So a lot of issues that the chair will make the final

01:00decisions because it's an independent statutory inquiry it will the final

01:05decisions about the questions they ask and the conclusions and recommendations

01:09that they come to will be a matter for the chair and for the panel but we want it

01:15to be able to get to the truth and really get to the bottom of the unanswered

01:18questions that have been there for so long. And you mentioned it there but it's

01:23obviously been 40 years we've heard of incidents of evidence being destroyed

01:27obviously things are going to get lost over time how are you certain you're

01:30going to be able to get to the bottom of what happened here? So back I think nine

01:35years ago when I was the Home Affairs Select Committee Chair I had asked police

01:40forces across the country what information they held and so I know that

01:44there was evidence that was held files of information that was held about what

01:48happened at Orgreave and we know that there is other evidence available. I have

01:53written to police forces to remind them of the importance of ensuring that any

02:00evidence and information that they have got must be made available to the Orgreave

02:05inquiry so that they have the full information about what happened that day.

A long-awaited inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave - one of the most violent episodes of the miners’ strike - has been announced

Category

Transcript

Recommended