The government has announced that it is launching Legal investigation in violent policing in Orgreave During the notorious miners strike of 1984.
Historians dubbed the ‘battle of war’, the incident saw Dozens of pickers and police were injured In the morning clash with an estimated 14,000 participants.
check After more than four decades of incidents, the accused of crimes will also be noticed in cases of 95 miners of crimes.
home Secretary Yweet cooper Last Thursday announced an inquiry into informing the first campaigners. He spoke to the site in Orgrav, where the Koking plant which was the goal of picketing was located.
“People have waited for more than 40 years to reply,” he said. “The scale of the clashes, injuries, prosecution, infamous evidence, for all those things – still have a lot of unanswered questions.”
“I think there is still deep marks in the coalfield communities in the miners strike, and the decisions made at that time – the comprehensive decisions taken by the Thaccher government in the 1980s – scars can still be felt in the coalfields.”
Here is everything you need to know:
What happened in the battle of Orgreave?
On 18 June 1984, one of the most brutal clashes in modern British policing History Unfold as workers organized by the National Union of Minor workers (NUM) gathered to pack a South Yorkshire cooking plant.
Last evening, NUM President Arthur Scargil addressed the miners about the plans for the next day’s picket. Roderham had around 2,000 miners due to a trip to Orgrav, a major plant near Roderham, where coal was used in British steel factories in Coke.
Pickers start gathering as 4 o’clock in the morning on a hot day, and are being directed in thousands of them by 7 am. Police In a nearby area.
Here, the estimated 6,000 police officers have gathered, and are facing around 8,000 pickers. Many officers are equipped on trunks, riot shields or horse backs.
After 8 o’clock in the morning, the empty wagon starts arriving to take the coke from the plant. Miners start pushing towards the police line, and the police push back. At this point, the pickers recalled their feet or even struggling to breathe in the crush.
A few minutes later, the police line opens, and the authorities on horses to proceed from the trunch for a long time on the miners. Such two more allegations will be within hours, as a senior officer is filmed to advise the police: “The body, not the main.”
The third charge is with the snatch squad – the police with baton and short shields – such a unit was first deployed on the mainland of the UK.
Those who have not run away, are pulled out of the crowd and pulled to the ground. A news report hit the footage of a miners called Russell Brumhed with a trunch repeatedly in the head.
About 2,000 of the remaining miners are sent to another entrance of the Orgrav, where there is another large area. Gate opens at 10.15 am when left about 30 Lauris site packed with coke. Pickets try to stop them with allegations of excess violence, and more arrests are made.
It is during the final frenzy of activity that Mr. Scargill was injured, claiming that he collided with a police shield. He said: “I know that these bastards ran inside and this man hit me behind my head with a shield and I was out.” The police denied that Mr. Scargill had collided with a shield.
It is found through the lawries, and the police continue to dispersed the remaining pickers. Horse allegations and snatching activity continues till around 1 pm, when most violence decreases.
What was later?
After the conflict, the South Yorkshire police were accused of pre-planned by critics and eliminating illegal behavior of striking miners.
The criticism was also lodged against the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who said that Orgrav Pickers had “attempted to replace the mob rule for the rule of law,” saying that the strike failed “because the magnificent police force trained well to fulfill their duties.”
The following year, prosecution against 95 pickers accused riots, illegal assembly and similar crimes. All the allegations were repeatedly accused of lying on police officers after his barrister.
Michael Mansfield Casey, who represented several miners in the court, called the incident “the worst example of a large-scale frame-up in the country in this century”.
Several cases were later brought for attacks, illegal arrests and malicious prosecution against the South Yorkshire Police. The force would later agree to pay £ 425,000 compensation and 39 pickers in an out-of-court settlement at a legal cost £ 100,000.
To date, the police has not made any mistake, and no officer has been disciplined for misconduct,
Why has an investigation started now?
In the later 41 years, several calls have been seen for official investigation of incidents. In 2012, the Orgrav Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) was launched after the success of the Hillsboro Justice campaign to investigate police conduct at that event.
However, in 2015, the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) stated that it would begin a formal investigation as much time had passed.
Prior to the General Election of July 2025, the Labor Party led by Sir Kir Stmper promised to start an investigation into Orgrav, it should win. A year after its election, the government has fulfilled that promise.
OTJC Secretary, Kate Franry said: “We have waited a long time for this day and this is really positive news. All these years of hard work by OTJC and many of our supporters have helped affect this creative declaration.
“Now we need to be satisfied that the investigation is given necessary powers, which thoroughly investigate all aspects of orchestrated policing in the orchevway, and all relevant information, including government, police and media documents, photos and films, has unrestricted access to all relevant information”
NUM Chairman, Chris Kitchen said: “We are on the moon. We are hoping that the investigation will reveal that our dispute, which we believe was industrial, political, not from 10, or not more than 10 food chains.
“We have never come to the region to cause riots or deliberately to lame people. I do not think it was the same for the police that with a plan to injured us, and trying to try and get public perception and try to end the strike.”
A spokesman for the South Yorkshire Police said: “We will cooperate fully with investigation in the bid to help the affected people find answers.”