Campaigners for an inquiry into the so-called 'Battle of Orgreave' have vowed to continue their fight.
Members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign told a news conference "we regard the gloves as off" in response to Home Secretary Amber Rudd's decision not to look further into violent clashes between miners and police in 1984.
South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings said he was "shocked and dismayed" by the Government's decision not to hold an inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave.
He said the "former miners and their families deserved to know the truth about what happened that day".
Dr Billings said: "The government have marched the Campaign for Truth and Justice to the top of the hill only to march them down again.
"No one has ever suggested that the events of Orgreave were comparable in every respect to the disaster at Hillsborough.
"But the former miners and the former mining communities in South Yorkshire deserve an explanation as to what happened on that day and where Orgreave fits in the wider story of the miners' strike.
"I believe the government has shied away from agreeing an inquiry because of those wider issues."
Dr Billings said South Yorkshire Police were "ready to co-operate" with an inquiry.
"This was a critical moment for the police service in South Yorkshire. It could have shown that it had really learned lessons of past mistakes and was ready to co-operate fully with any inquiry.
"We wanted to see a new era of openness with no attempt to be self-justifying or defensive," he said.
Campaigners said "we regard the gloves as off" as they responded to the Home Secretary's decision not to hold an investigation.
In scenes reminiscent of the English Civil War, the Battle of Orgreave split the United Kingdom and changed industrial relations for ever.
The Government has chosen not to hold an inquiry into the conduct of South Yorkshire Police during the so-called Battle at Orgreave.