Amber Rudd announced yesterday that there would be no inquiry into the “Battle of Orgreave”. The reaction from my constituency, the site of the former Orgreave coking works, was initially one of shock and anger. But as the news sank in, it shifted to a palpable sense of the inevitable. This is what the people of South Yorkshire have come to expect from the Tories. Once again, we have been treated with contempt by our government. Upon entering Downing Street, Theresa May spoke of leading a government for everybody. The message yesterday was quite different. Rudd said an inquiry into Orgreave was not in the public interest. Well, the taxpaying people of South Yorkshire disagree.
The events of 18 June 1984 have cast a dark shadow. For many in coalfield communities, there remains a deep and abiding mistrust of the police. The allegations against South Yorkshire police are of the utmost severity. They include assault, brutality, wrongful arrest and fabrication of evidence. Yet the home secretary has determined they do not warrant any form of inquiry by the government. Her stated reasons are, essentially, that as there were no convictions, there was no miscarriage of justice. As there were no deaths, allegations of brutality are inconsequential. As many years have passed and policing in Britain has changed, no lessons can be learned and no analysis is needed. These arguments, frankly, are nonsense.
South Yorkshire police have faced a torrent of criticism in recent years, from the revelations of the Hillsborough inquiry and inquests to the abject failures to protect children from sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The force is in the midst of a challenging process of rebuilding. Public trust, which has been badly shaken, must be restored. This is simply not possible while the shadow of suspicion continues to linger over its actions at Orgreave. The passage of time has done little to alleviate this suspicion; the home secretary’s decision has compounded this.
Time has not healed the wounds of those who were present at Orgreave, or of their families. I have seen proud, strong men in tears as they described to me what happened that day. They have lived with the smears and aspersions that were cast upon them for every day of those 32 years. Many have died without ever seeing the truth exposed. Those that remain are approaching old age. We owe them justice.
The home secretary effectively rejected the connections to Hillsborough during her remarks in parliament. No one has argued that Orgreave and Hillsborough were identical. They were not. Yet the connections and similarities between the two cases are alarming: the same allegations of falsified evidence and manipulated statements; the same smears; the same culture; in some cases, the same commanders. We now know the truth about Hillsborough. We deserve the truth about Orgreave.
The government seems to be hoping that calls for an inquiry will now simply disappear. They are sadly mistaken. I know that the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign will continue with the same determination and dignity in the face of adversity that they have shown thus far. This chapter of this shameful episode in British history may be over, but the book is not closed. I, and many others, will not let it be.
