BATTLE OF ORGREAVE: Government may launch public inquiry

e A Home Office minister has suggested the Government may launch an inquiry in to the Battle of Orgreave.
A public inquiry may be held into the infamous Battle of OrgreaveA public inquiry may be held into the infamous Battle of Orgreave
A public inquiry may be held into the infamous Battle of Orgreave

Mike Penning said Home Secretary Theresa May has a 'track record' of considering similar inquiries.Calls for a public inquiry into the confrontation during the 1984 national miners' strike have strengthened following the Hillsborough disaster inquests, which revealed two senior police officers and a solicitor were linked to both investigations.The Battle of Orgreave saw thousands of police officers and picketing miners clash at a coking plant at Orgreave.Dozens of miners were charged over the incident but their trials collapsed when police evidence was deemed unreliable.Speaking during Home Office questions in the Commons, shadow Home Office minister and Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion, said: "For the police to be effective they need to be trusted by the community they serve. Truth is built by being honest about the past."Will the Home Secretary finally do the right thing and grant the request of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and nearly 100 cross-party MPs for a full inquiry on what exactly happened on June 18, 32 years ago in the Battle of Orgreave?"Policing Minister Mike Penning said: "You raise a very, very important point."The Home Secretary has a track record of looking at this sort of thing very open mindedly, in perhaps a way that no other Home Secretary has ever done and Hillsborough has proven that."We will look at Orgreave, we're still looking at it at the moment."The confidence in our police can only be there if we have a transparent system when complaints take place and that's exactly what (the Policing and Crime Bill) is taking through the House."Last year police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission said the passage of time prevented a formal investigation into the police's handling of events at Orgreave.