Pete Wilcox says point of investigation into infamous 1984 clashes with police is to ‘enable communities to move on’
Former miners will finally get the chance to speak the truth about their experiences after four decades of silence during a public inquiry into infamous clashes with police at Orgreave, the inquiry’s chair has said.
Pete Wilcox, the bishop of Sheffield, said only an inquiry could help South Yorkshire move on from the events of 18 June 1984, when striking miners unexpectedly found themselves in a pitched battle against thousands of police officers brought in from forces across the UK.
The Hillsborough-style inquiry, officially launched by Sarah Jones, the policing minister, in parliament on Thursday, will examine how 6,000 police officers were deployed to a picket at Orgreave coking plant three months into a National Union of Miners strike over planned pit closures.
About 8,000 people – miners and their families – were on the receiving end of what was described as heavy-handed policing, with witnesses and images from the day detailing how mounted police charged at the pickets and hit them with batons.
