Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Home Office

My hon Friend the Minister of State for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

Today I am announcing the formal launch of the Orgreave Inquiry, a statutory public inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005, to investigate the events at the Orgreave Coking Plant on 18 June 1984.

I pay tribute to the campaigners, particularly the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and the National Union of Mineworkers, whose tireless advocacy has brought us to this moment. Their voices will be central to the Inquiry’s work.

This inquiry delivers on the Government’s manifesto commitment to uncover the truth about Orgreave and to rebuild public confidence in policing. It will investigate the events of that day, resulting in the arrest of 95 picketers and scores of injuries, which left a lasting impact on communities across South Yorkshire and beyond. It will examine the planning undertaken by the police and government for the policing of the demonstration at Orgreave on 18 June 1984, including relevant decision making in the leadup to the day; what happened on the day; the immediate aftermath and lasting impact on individuals and communities, including the subsequent public narrative; and the charging decisions and prosecutions relating to those arrested at Orgreave..

As announced on 21 July last year, the Inquiry will be chaired by the Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, the Bishop of Sheffield. He will be supported by a panel of independent experts appointed in accordance with section 4 of the Act. I am pleased to confirm the appointment of the following panel members to support the Chair in his work:

Baroness Mary Bousted, a former senior trade union leader representing teachers, leaders, and support staff and workers. She led the panel which, in April 2025, published the report of its independent review of the Police Federation of England and Wales. She will provide relevant knowledge and insight concerning the strategic and operational leadership and management of trades unions

Wendy Williams CBE, a former chief prosecutor and, between 2015-2024, an Inspector in His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. She published the report of her independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review in March 2020, and her update report on the Home Office’s response in March 2022. She will provide independent insight on police governance, and the decision-making and effectiveness of police forces.

Dr. Joanna Gilmore, a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of York, whose research expertise includes public order law, human rights and policing policy. Drawing on her socio-legal and oral history research into the 1984-85 miners’ strike, she will contribute analysis of the broader societal, legal and political issues arising from the events at Orgreave.

Dr. Angie Sutton-Vane, an historian with extensive experience in evidence-based research, historical accountability and the archiving, preservation of and access to police force records. She will provide expertise on the interpretation of historical records, particularly those of the police.

The panel will operate under the agreed Terms of Reference, a copy of which will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses today.

Answering body: Home Office

As referred to in the Written Ministerial Statement of 21 July announcing the establishment of an inquiry into the events at Orgreave (HLWS860), the Home Secretary is currently in consultation with the Chair of the inquiry on its terms of reference. The Home Secretary has asked the Chair to engage with key stakeholders as part of that process, and a final copy of the terms of reference will be published at the earliest opportunity thereafter.

Further details will be set out in due course.

Answering body: Home Office

As referred to in the Written Ministerial Statement of 21 July announcing the establishment of an inquiry into the events at Orgreave (HLWS860), the Home Secretary is currently in consultation with the Chair of the inquiry on its terms of reference. The Home Secretary has asked the Chair to engage with key stakeholders as part of that process, and a final copy of the terms of reference will be published at the earliest opportunity thereafter.

Further details will be set out in due course.

Answering body: Home Office

As referred to in the Written Ministerial Statement of 21 July announcing the establishment of an inquiry into the events at Orgreave (HLWS860), the Home Secretary is currently in consultation with the Chair of the inquiry on its terms of reference. The Home Secretary has asked the Chair to engage with key stakeholders as part of that process, and a final copy of the terms of reference will be published at the earliest opportunity thereafter.

Further details will be set out in due course.

Answering body: Home Office

My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

The violent scenes that took place at Orgreave Coking Plant on 18 June 1984 were a pivotal moment in the nationwide miners’ strike of 1984–85. In total, 95 picketers were arrested and charged with riot and violent disorder, but all charges were later dropped after evidence was discredited. The events of that day have had a lasting impact on those present and on their families and communities, as well as on the relationship between policing and coalfield communities at that time.

Whilst there have been significant changes in the oversight of policing since 1984, and to the way that public order is now policed, questions about the specific events of Orgreave have remained unanswered for too long. More than forty years on, it is time that every individual affected by the events of that day receives the answers they deserve.

This Government made a commitment in its manifesto to ensure, through an investigation or inquiry, that the truth about events at Orgreave comes to light. Today, consistent with that promise, I am announcing the Government’s decision to establish an inquiry into the events at the Orgreave Coking Plant on 18 June 1984.

The Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, the Bishop of Sheffield, has agreed to chair the inquiry. He will be supported by a small panel of independent experts who will be appointed in due course.

The purpose of the inquiry will be to aid public understanding of how the violent clashes and injuries caused at Orgreave on 18 June 1984, and the events immediately after, came to pass. It will be a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005, with the appropriate powers to compel the provision of information where necessary.

It will be key for the inquiry to have access to all information which it deems relevant. For that reason, I have recently written to all police forces, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing, and all government departments, to ask that all material they hold relating to the events of Orgreave be retained, in order that it can be provided in a timely manner to the inquiry if requested.

Recognising the need for an inquiry to deliver swiftly whilst avoiding any undue impact on individuals’ wellbeing, I hope the inquiry will look to previous examples of good practice – such as the Hillsborough Independent Panel – to inform its method of delivery.

I am currently in the process of consulting the Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox on a proposed terms of reference and I have asked him to engage with key stakeholders as part of that process. I will place a final copy of the terms of reference in the Libraries of both Houses at the earliest opportunity thereafter.

In line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the direction of the inquiry’s investigations will be a matter for the Chair.

Answering body: Home Office

My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber Rudd) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

The Government has been considering a submission from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign on the need for an Inquiry or independent review into the events that occurred at Orgreave Coking Plant on 18 June 1984, and subsequently.

This has been a difficult decision to make, and one which I have thought about very carefully. I have now concluded that there is not a sufficient basis for me to instigate either a statutory inquiry or an independent review. I know that this decision will come as a significant disappointment to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and its supporters and I have set out in a letter to them today the detailed reasons for my decision which include the following points.

Despite the forceful accounts and arguments provided by the campaigners and former miners who were present that day, about the effect that these events have had on them, ultimately there were no deaths or wrongful convictions.

The Campaigners say that had the consequences of the events at Orgreave been addressed properly at the time, the tragic events at Hillsborough would never have happened five years later. That is not a conclusion which I believe can be reached with any certainty.

It was absolutely right that the Government established the Hillsborough Independent Panel. Significantly the Panel’s report led to the High Court quashing the original inquests verdicts and the opening of the fresh inquests. The jury’s determinations and findings were unequivocal and clear: 96 victims were unlawfully killed. The criminal investigations should now be allowed to proceed unimpeded. The IPCC is working with the CPS to assess whether material related to the policing at Orgreave is relevant to the Hillsborough criminal investigations. The intention is that criminal investigations in respect of Hillsborough will provide files to the CPS by the turn of the year following which the CPS will make decisions about whether any criminal proceedings will be brought as a result.

The Campaign and their supporters explained to me when I met them that they want to get to the bottom of what happened on the 18 June 1984, and that only by doing so will their trust, and that of their community, be restored in the police.

However, there have been very significant changes in the oversight of policing since 1984, at every level, including major reforms to criminal procedure, changes to public order policing and practice, stronger external scrutiny and greater local accountability.

The operational delivery and practice of public order policing has moved on a great deal from the arrangements in 1984, and tactics have now been reviewed and altered several times both by the police and the courts.

Protections which were singularly lacking at the time of Orgreave now exist with the introduction in the mid-80s of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act which has vastly improved the way police investigations and powers operate.

The creation of the Crown Prosecution Service in 1986, with the introduction of independent CPS prosecutors, fundamentally altered the prosecution of offences. It ended the existence of ad hoc prosecution arrangements across the country whereby a mixture of police prosecutors and private firms of solicitors - hired by the police and acting for and on the instruction of the police – conducted prosecutions.

With regards to the external scrutiny of complaints against the police, this was strengthened by the creation, in 1985, of the Police Complaints Authority which was replaced in 2004 by the more effective Independent Police Complaints Commission and in turn will be replaced by the Office for Police Conduct in 2017. The exemplary standards of behaviour expected of everyone who works in policing were reinforced by the introduction of a statutory Code of Ethics, laid before this House in 2014.

Lastly, the introduction of directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners in 2012 has given the public a voice in shaping their local policing priorities and improved the accountability of police leadership.

Over 30 years later, policing is very different and one of my key concerns as Home Secretary is to ensure there is a policing system which works effectively and fairly now. The policing landscape has changed fundamentally since 1984 – at the political, legislative and operational levels. The same is true also for the wider criminal justice system.

There would therefore be very few lessons for the policing system today to be learned from any review of the events and practices of three decades ago. This is a very important consideration when looking at the necessity for an inquiry or independent review and the public interest to be derived from holding one.

Taking these considerations into account, I do not believe that establishing any kind of inquiry is required to allay public concerns or for any other reason.

I believe that we should focus on continuing to ensure that the policing system is the best it can be for the future, including through reforms before Parliament in the Policing and Crime Bill, so that we can have the best possible policing both in South Yorkshire and across the country.