Sarah Champion MP Responds to Launch of Orgreave Inquiry

“I'm delighted work will soon begin on the Orgreave Inquiry. This fulfils a key promise made to my constituents and will hopefully be the fulfilment of the long struggle for justice of former mineworkers and the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign.’

‘I met last year with the inquiry’s chair, the Rt. Revd. Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield, to discuss the establishment of the inquiry and was struck by his determination to get to the truth. This is something he cares deeply about. I am looking forward to work finally getting underway.’

‘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, and indeed the Government of the time.”