What happened at the Battle of Orgreave – and why is there an inquiry now?
The government announced that it launched a legal investigation into violent policing in Orgreave during the famous miner strike in 1984.
In the event called ‘Orgreave War’ by historians, dozens of selector and police were injured in the morning conflict with 14,000 participants.
The investigation will examine the collapsed cases of 95 miners accused of crimes after more than forty years of incidents.
Interior Minister Yette Cooper announced that the investigation informed for the first time last Thursday. He spoke from the site in Orgreave, where Picketing’s target, which is the target.
“People have been waiting for an answer for more than 40 years,” he said. “The scale of the conflicts, injuries, prosecution, disreputable evidence, all of these – there is still a question that is still not answered.”
“I think there are still deep scars between the coal -field communities of the miners’ strike, and the decisions taken at that time – the widest decisions taken by the Thatcher government in the 1980s – the scars of the wound can still be felt in coal fields.”
Here is everything you need to know:
What happened in the Orgreave War?
On June 18, 1984, one of the most ruthless conflicts in the history of modern British policing, the workers organized by the National Mine Workers Association (NUM) gathered to dig a South Yorkshire sniffing factory.
The previous evening, Number President Arthur Scargill addressed miners about plans for the next days. Approximately 2,000 miners were going to visit Orgreave, a large plant near Rotherham, and that coal was embroidered in Kola for use in British steel factories.
The selections begin to meet at an early date on a hot day and are directed by the police to a nearby area by thousands of people by 7 am.
Here, 6,000 estimated police officers gathered and faced about 8,000 collections. Most of the civil servants are equipped with Crocheons, rebellion shields or horse back.
Immediately after 8 in the morning, the empty wagons begin to come to get from the facility to coke. The miners start to push towards the police line and pushes the police back. At this point, Picketers remember to fight to protect or even breathe.
A few minutes later, the police line opens and the civil servants in the horses carrying long throats proceed to the miners. Since a senior officer advised the police, two more accusations would occur: “not heads, bodies”.
The third accusation is accompanied by the breakfarma cadres – batons and short shields, which marked for the first time that such a unit was deployed for the first time in the UK motherland.
The miners who do not escape are dragged from the crowd and retreated to the ground. A news report is repeatedly hit by a copy of a miner named Russell Broomhead.
Approximately 2,000 of the remaining miners are sent to another entrance to Orgreave, with another large area. The doors are opened at 10.15, and about 30 trucks packaged with cola are separated from the site. The piles try to stop them and more arrests are made with more allegations of violence.
He claims that Mr. Scargill was wounded during this latest activity madness and was shot by a police shield. He said: “All I know, these bastards came in, and this man hit me behind my head with a shield and I was out.” The police deny that Mr. Scargill was shot by a shield.
The trucks pass and the police try to distribute the remaining selections. Horse fees and breaking staff activity continue until 13.00 when the majority of violence decreases.
What was the post?
Following the conflict, the South Yorkshire police were accused by critics to plan violence in advance and exaggerate the illegal behavior of striking miners.
This criticism was also against the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who said that Orgreave Picketers tried to change the rule of the mafia for the superiority of law ”. He added that the strike action failed.
The following year, 95 prosecution accused of rebellion, illegal parliament and similar crimes collapsed. All the charges were fell out of his lawyers after repeatedly accused the police officers of lying.
Michael Mansfield KC, representing a few of the miners in the court, described the event as the “the worst example of a mass frame in this country in this century.”
Later, a series of lawsuits were filed for the Southern Yorkshire police for attacking, illegal arrest and malicious prosecution. The force will then agree to pay £ 425,000 compensation and £ 100,000 in a non -court agreement.
To date, the police have not accepted any mistakes and no civil servant is disciplined for abuse,
Why is an investigation now launched now?
The next 41 years received several calls for an official investigation into the events. In 2012, the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) was launched after the success of the Hillsborough justice campaign for the forcing investigation into police behavior at this event.
However, in 2015, the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) said it would launch an official investigation because too much time has passed.
Before the July 2025 general elections, the Labor Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, promised to launch an investigation into Orgreave if it secured victory. One year after the elections, the government promised this.
OTJC Secretary Kate Flannery said, ık We waited for a long time for this day, and this is a really positive news. This hard work by OTJC and many supporters helped to influence this constructive announcement.
“Now, we should be pleased to investigate all aspects of the investigation in Orgreave and to have the necessary powers to have unlimited access to all related information, including government, police and media documents, photographs and films.”
Number President Chris Kitchen said: iz We are on the moon. We hope that the investigation is political that we believe is industrial is political and that it will be arranged from 10 or a higher food chain to 10.
“We have never come to a rebellion or intentionally lamely come to this area. I do not think that this is the same as a plan to wound us, and try to try to end the perception of the people and try to end the strike.”
Southern Yorkshire Police Spokesman: “We will cooperate with the investigation to help those affected to find answers.” He said.
