Sarah Champion MP Urges Government to Set out Details of Inquiry into Battle of Orgreave

Sarah Champion, Member of Parliament for Rotherham, has written to the Government urging them to set out their intentions regarding an inquiry into the events of the Battle of Orgreave.

Questions have been asked for many years about policing at Orgreave during the 1984 – 1985 miners’ strike and Sarah has long campaigned for a public inquiry to be commissioned to uncover the truth.

The Labour Party’s manifesto during the 2024 General Election committed to “ensure, through an investigation or inquiry, that the truth about the events at Orgreave comes to light.”

In a letter to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, Sarah said:

“The previous Conservative Government betrayed campaigners. I held meetings with the then Home Secretary Teresa May and Orgreave Truth and Justice Committee. May committed to an inquiry, only to U-turn at the last minute when she became Prime Minister and decline to do so.”

Setting out the importance of an inquiry, Sarah said:

“(the process of rebuilding of South Yorkshire Police) cannot be truly completed whilst the spectre of Orgreave continues to loom over community interaction with SYP. The people of South Yorkshire deserve to know the truth about their police force. Only then can we begin to trust and move on.”

Sarah urged the new Government to set out its intentions regarding Orgreave and to outline next steps towards fulfilling the manifesto commitment.

Commenting, Sarah said:

“I know from conversations with constituents during the election campaign just how important Labour’s commitment to uncover the truth about Orgreave was to them.

Orgreave continues to cast a long shadow, and we have waited far too long to learn what really happened.’

‘Sadly, more than forty years on, many of those who were at Orgreave are no longer with us. Many of those who remain are elderly. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer. I have fought for the truth about Orgreave since I was first elected as a Member of Parliament and I will be doing everything I can to hold the new Government to its word.”

You can read Sarah’s letter HERE