In November last year I submitted a motion to be debated at a full meeting of Durham County Council urging the government to carry out a public inquiry into policing tactics deployed at Orgreave during the 1985-85 Miners’ Strike.
The motion was scheduled to be heard at the December meeting of the county council but was timed-out by a discussion on an earlier motion (the council’s constitution limits the amount of time set aside at each council meeting for motions). Instead the motion was discussed at last week’s meeting where I’m pleased to say it was unanimously endorsed.
I’ve published below a transcript of the notes I used when addressing members last week:
The purpose of the motion in front of members this morning is to ask
the government to hold a full independent inquiry into the background of
policing decisions and behaviour of the police at the Orgreave coking works
during the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike.
Orgreave stands out as a serious miscarriage of justice - and after 40 years we’re still no closer to understanding how events unfolded that day. So, it’s vital that the truth comes out and that the police and any associated bodies are brought to account.
Thousands of striking miners, including an estimated 1500 from our own county, were at Orgreave and many still suffer today from physical and psychological problems. Many of them lost their jobs and livelihoods. Many saw their marriages break down and some were left in limbo for many months awaiting trial at which several of them faced charges of riot – a charge which carries with it a potential sentence of life imprisonment on conviction.
In all cases those charges were eventually abandoned once it became clear that the lads arrested had been fitted up by the police. But the trauma of it all haunts them even today.
In addition, what happened at Orgreave sent a message to the police that they could use violence and lies with impunity.
Back in 2015 an Independent Police Complaints Commission review concluded that there was evidence that some police officers on duty at Orgreave had committed assault. Some went on to commit perjury and ultimately pervert the course of justice.
But the real perversion of justice is that no one has ever been held to account.
Given the organised way that events unfolded at Orgreave it’s almost certain that the order for the onslaught and subsequent cover-up came from above. Whether that’s from higher up the chain of command in the police force itself, or from an even higher level in Thatcher's government remains to be seen.
And that’s why it’s important for everyone concerned that the truth is established through an independent inquiry and that the state is brought to account.
Whatever form the inquiry takes, the scope and terms of reference must be adequately robust and sufficient to finally reveal the truth of what happened at Orgreave, and at last put right the wrongs of the past.
If we really care about accountability
and responsibility in public service - and if we want to ensure that truth and
justice prevail we must demand nothing less than a full inquiry into Orgreave.
Finally, in handing back the miners’
money held in the MPS Investment Reserve we’ve seen that this government is
prepared to go where no previous government has gone in acknowledging the
injustices faced by the miners and their families.
Now that the sands are at last shifting in favour of justice for the miners, we need to push harder for an inquiry into Orgreave.
