Public inquiry to be held into 1984 Battle of Orgreave

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The government has announced a public inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave - one of the worst days of violence during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike. Campaigners have long fought for an investigation into South Yorkshire Police’s actions during and after the clashes at the Orgreave Coking Plant in June 1984. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says concerns “have been left unanswered for decades, and we must now establish what happened.” Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00The government has announced a public inquiry into one of the worst days of violence during

00:09the 1984-85 miners strike. On the 18th of June 1984, more than 100 people were injured in clashes

00:18between police and striking miners at the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire.

00:24It became known as the Battle of Orgreave. 95 people were charged with riot and violent disorder

00:31and faced hefty prison sentences. However, all of the charges were eventually dropped when police

00:37officers were accused of lying in court. Campaigners have long fought for an investigation into South

00:43Yorkshire Police's actions during and after the clashes at Orgreave. They say miners were attacked

00:49and crucial evidence was destroyed. Their calls for a national inquiry were rejected in 2016

00:56by a Conservative government.

00:58I have concluded that there is no case for either a statutory inquiry or an independent review.

01:06Last week, the current Labour Home Secretary visited the site in Orgreave where the coking

01:11plants used to stand and promised answers to what happened on that day.

01:15Clearly, what it needs to look at is the violent clashes that took place that day, the injuries

01:22that took place, 120 people who were injured, but also the prosecutions, the charges that were then

01:29laid but then dropped because of discredited evidence. So all of those issues, we know that

01:35there are still files held, that there is still information held that hasn't been made public and

01:40all of that will need to be part of the inquiry. She was joined by campaigners and former miners

01:47who have waited more than four decades for this announcement.

01:50A long time coming and long overdue. I hope and fervently pray for some of these people that suffered.

02:00I mean, I was there on the day but never suffered like some of the lads have and the trauma that they've

02:05suffered and have continued to suffer for years. And also thinking about the people who's no longer with us.

02:13Memories of what happened in June 1984 remain strong in South Yorkshire. The inquiry is expected

02:19to be launched this autumn and it's hoped will restore trust amongst a community which still bears

02:25the scars after all these years.

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