Orgreave campaigners meet new home secretary to demand public inquiry

There was a huge police response to the strike at the coking plant in 1984 Credit: PA

Campaigners will meet the home secretary today as they continue calls for a public inquiry into the so-called battle of Orgreave.

Members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) will urge Amber Rudd to order scrutiny of the events surrounding clashes between striking miners and South Yorkshire Police in June 1984.

The OTJC presented a legal submission to Theresa May when she was home secretary last December 2015 outlining the case.

Kevin Horne, who was one of the picketing miners at the Orgreave coking plant, said: "Expectations in the mining communities are that a public inquiry will finally mean justice for Orgreave. It is also essential that public trust in the police is rebuilt."

The campaigners claim there was a “pre-planned, militarised police operation” and extensive violence against miners, leading to what they say were 95 wrongful arrests and prosecutions based on a “falsified narrative”.

OTJC Secretary Barbara Jackson said: "The previous home secretary and the current home secretary have had ample time to read through and consider our legal submission. A response was expected by March this year. We are therefore hopeful that an inquiry decision is imminent."