Sarah Champion welcomes announcement of a national inquiry into Battle of Orgreave

Sarah Champion, Member of Parliament for Rotherham, has welcomed the Government’s announcement that it is to commission a national inquiry into events during the so called ‘Battle of Orgreave’, during the Miners’ Strike in 1984. The site of the former Orgreave Coking Works is in Sarah’s Rotherham constituency, and she has long campaigned for an inquiry.

Labour’s General Election Manifesto committed the Party in Government to ‘ensure, through an investigation or inquiry, that the truth about the events at Orgreave on 18 June 1984 is brought to light.’

In April, Sarah met with the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, alongside the Rt. Revd. Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield to urge the Government to fulfil their manifesto pledge without delay.

Commenting, Sarah said:

“I am delighted and relieved that, finally, forty-one 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 led to believe an inquiry was about to be commissioned, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.  They have been let down time and time again, and I am proud that a Labour Government is good to its word and will finally will uncover the truth.”

Sarah continued:

“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. Those who were at Orgreave deserve acknowledgement that the smears levelled at them in the years since were just that. 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.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: