Orgreave inquiry will answer decades of "smears" endured by pickets
THE Orgreave inquiry announced this week will provide acknowledgement to those involved that “smears levelled at them over the years since were just that”, Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper came good on a manifesto promise to hold an inquiry into the ‘battle of Orgreave’ which saw 95 picketers charged, only to have cases dropped at court.
She said: “I am delighted and relieved that, finally, 41 years on from Orgreave, the shocking events of that day are to receive the investigation they deserve.
“Former mineworkers, their families and campaigners from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign have worked tirelessly for years to make this a reality.
“I have stood shoulder to shoulder with campaigners over the years as they were left to believe an inquiry would be commissioned, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.
“I am proud that a Labour Government is good to its word and will finally uncover the truth.
“More than four decades on from Orgreave, some have questioned the need for such an inquiry.
“I would invite them to speak to my constituents in Rotherham for whom it remains an open wound.
“A lingering distrust continues to cast a shadow over relations between the South Yorkshire Police and the community it serves.
“This cannot be rebuilt until the full story is brought into the light.
“Above all, my constituents deserve to know the truth about their police force.”
The inquiry, to be led by Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield, is expected to start later this year.