Thursday 5 May 2016

Open-up on Orgreave!


THE Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign has asked that the new interim chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, Dave Jones, open up the force's archives into the police action at the Orgreave coking plant during the 1984 miners' strike .
The challenge from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign came the day after Dave Jones marked the moment he took over temporary control of the South Yorkshire force by offering to listen to the activists, as well as families of the 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
The Yorkshire Post news correspondent, Mark Casci, reported today: 
'Campaign secretary Barbara Jackson said they will take up Mr Jones's offer but said they did not want it to be a "token gesture".  Mrs Jackson said they want the chief constable to intervene in their legal bid to push Home Secretary Theresa May to hold a public inquiry into the events at Orgreave 32 years ago. '
This call from campaigners comes on the heals of the findings in the Hillsborough inquest last week which found that the South Yorkshire Police had lied and fabricated evidence.
The events of the 'Battle of Orgreave' came to symbolise the 1984 Miner's strike.   It took place at a coking plant on the borders of Rotherham and Sheffield, when large numbers of pickets were confronted by around 6,000 police from all around the UK.

A total of 95 miners were charged following the disturbances but their trial collapsed.

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