No public inquiry into Battle of Orgreave

Amber Rudd today said there will be no public inquiry or independent review into the events on June 18, 1984, when police and pickets clashed outside the Orgreave Coking plant near Rotherham.

Ms Rudd said she did not believe establishing any kind of inquiry was required to allay public concerns.

The Home Secretary said: "Despite the forceful accounts and arguments provided by the campaigners and former miners who were present that day, about the effect that these events have had on them, ultimately there were no deaths or wrongful convictions.

“The campaigners say that had the consequences of the events at Orgreave been addressed properly at the time, the tragic events at Hillsborough would never have happened five years later.

“That is not a conclusion which I believe can be reached with any certainty.”

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion Tweeted after the announcement: “Can't believe Government won't have an inquiry into #Orgreave.

“Shows contempt Tories feel for South Yorkshire. I’m disgusted.”

Today’s news comes ten months after the campaign group — supported by high-profile campaigning lawyers — submitted their legal case for an independent probe to then-Home Secretary Theresa May.

Campaigners wanted to see a Hillsborough panel-type inquiry with miners’ groups or OTJC members on the investigation group.

During Today’s home office debate, the Labour MP for Chester Christian Matheson, asked Ms Rudd: “When will the Home Secretary make an announcement about about an Orgreave inquiry?”

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said last year that it would not conduct an inquiry into police conduct at Orgreave.

South Yorkshire Police had referred itself to the IPCC in 2012 over the violent events at the pit site near Catcliffe.

The watchdog found evidence of assault and perjury by junior and senior officers, but announced that it had decided not to proceed with an inquiry over officers’ behaviour.

Miners from across Rotherham were picketing at Orgreave on June 18, 1984, when trouble flared, with police clashing with striking miners who had come from across Rotherham to protest outside the coking plant.

Police arrested 95 pickets and charged 71 with riot and 24 with violent disorder but their trials collapsed due to concern over the reliability of police evidence.

In 1991, 39 miners were paid  £425,000 in compensation for assault, wrongful arrest, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution.