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HandWiki. Battle of Orgreave. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/32279 (accessed on 03 October 2026).
HandWiki. Battle of Orgreave. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/32279. Accessed October 03, 2026.
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Battle of Orgreave
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Social:Battle_of_Orgreave

The Battle of Orgreave was a violent confrontation on 18 June 1984 between pickets and officers of the South Yorkshire Police (SYP) and other police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, at a British Steel Corporation (BSC) coking plant at Orgreave, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was a pivotal event in the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, and one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history. Journalist Alastair Stewart has characterised it as "a defining and ghastly moment" that "changed, forever, the conduct of industrial relations and how this country functions as an economy and as a democracy". Most media reports at the time depicted it as "an act of self-defence by police who had come under attack". In 2015, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) reported that there was "evidence of excessive violence by police officers, a false narrative from police exaggerating violence by miners, perjury by officers giving evidence to prosecute the arrested men, and an apparent cover-up of that perjury by senior officers". Historian Tristram Hunt has described the confrontation as "almost medieval in its choreography ... at various stages a siege, a battle, a chase, a rout and, finally, a brutal example of legalised state violence". 71 picketers were charged with riot and 24 with violent disorder. At the time, riot was punishable by life imprisonment. The trials collapsed when the evidence given by the police was deemed "unreliable". Gareth Peirce, who acted as solicitor for some of the pickets, said that the charge of riot had been used "to make a public example of people, as a device to assist in breaking the strike", while Michael Mansfield called it "the worst example of a mass frame-up in this country this century". In June 1991, the SYP paid £425,000 in compensation to 39 miners for assault, wrongful arrest, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution. Following the 2016 inquest verdict into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, previously censored documents suggesting links between the actions of senior SYP officers at both incidents were published. This led to renewed calls for a public inquiry to be held into the actions of the police at Orgreave. In October 2016, in an Oral Answer to a Question in the House of Commons, a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons and Lords, and in a letter to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC), Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced there would be no statutory inquiry or independent review. In 2016, Alan Billings, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, admitted that the SYP had been "dangerously close to being used as an instrument of state". Despite the police evidence subsequently being deemed unreliable in court, there still exists a body of opinion that the police at Orgreave "were upholding the law in the face of intimidation from thousands of strikers".

industrial relations riot coking plant

References

  1. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, pp. 84–86.
  2. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, p. 88.
  3. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, pp. 89–92.
  4. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, p. 93.
  5. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, pp. 83,88.
  6. Hunt, Tristram (4 September 2006). "Charge of the heavy brigade". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,1864176,00.html. 
  7. Scargill, Arthur (7 March 2009). "'We could surrender – or stand and fight'". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/mar/07/arthur-scargill-miners-strike. 
  8. Robertson, Jack (23 April 2010). "25 years after the Great Miners' Strike". International Socialism (London) (126). http://isj.org.uk/25-years-after-the-great-miners-strike/. 
  9. Maconie, Stuart (2011). Hope and Glory: A People’s History of Modern Britain. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-091-92648-9. 
  10. Bunyan, Tony (1985). "From Saltley to Orgreave via Brixton". Journal of Law and Society 12 (3): 293–303. doi:10.2307/1410123. ISSN 0263-323X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F1410123
  11. Mackie, Phil (10 February 2012). "Arthur Scargill and the Battle of Saltley Gate". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9694000/9694645.stm. 
  12. Griffin, Jon (23 January 2012). "40 years on from the miners' battle of Saltley Coke works". Birmingham Post (Birmingham). http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/40-years-miners-battle-saltley-3915377. 
  13. "1972: Miners strike against government". BBC News. 9 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/9/newsid_2515000/2515917.stm. 
  14. Scraton, Phil (1985). "The State v The People". Journal of Law and Society 12 (3): 251–266. doi:10.2307/1410119. ISSN 0263-323X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F1410119
  15. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, pp. 97–98.
  16. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, p. 103.
  17. Wilsher, Macintyre & Jones 1985, pp. 59–61.
  18. Routledge 1993, pp. 66–67.
  19. Callinicos, Alex (5 March 2014). "The battle of Orgreave and how it was lost". Socialist Worker (London). https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/37559/The+battle+of+Orgreave+and+how+it+was+lost. 
  20. Johnson, Dan (12 June 2015). "Background: 'The Battle of Orgreave'". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-33107090. 
  21. Milne, Seumas (20 June 1991). "Battle for Orgreave revealed crude riot tactics that caused hundreds of injuries while 48-day trial exposed lies about arrests of pickets". The Guardian (London). http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A171184737/STND?sid=wikipedia. 
  22. In July 1990, during Arthur Critchlow and 38 Others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, Chief Inspector Geoffrey Drabble provided a list of all Police Support Units present at Orgreave on 18 June 1984. PSUs were provided from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary, Humberside Police, Lancashire Constabulary, Lincolnshire Police, Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside Police, Norfolk Constabulary, Northumbria Police, North Wales Police, North Yorkshire Police, South Wales Police, South Yorkshire Police, Suffolk Constabulary, West Mercia Police, West Midlands Police and West Yorkshire Police. "Schedule of Police Support Unit Operational Records". Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign. 30 July 1990. http://otjc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Affidavit-of-Geoffrey-Drabble.pdf. 
  23. "IPCC decisions on matters relating to the policing of events at Orgreave coking plant in 1984". Independent Police Complaints Commission. 12 June 2015. https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/investigation_commissioner_reports/Ogreave_Decision_12-06-2015.pdf. 
  24. East, Robert; Power, Helen; Thomas, Philip A. (1985). "The Death of Mass Picketing". Journal of Law and Society 12 (3): 305–319. doi:10.2307/1410124. ISSN 0263-323X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F1410124
  25. "Inside Out: Yorkshire and Lincolnshire". BBC One. 22 October 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nj32j. 
  26. Milne 2014, p. 22.
  27. Mansfield, Michael (June 2009). "Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Miners' Strike 1984–85". Socialist Lawyer (52): 16–18. ISSN 0954-3635.  http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0954-3635
  28. Mansfield, Michael (18 June 2014). "Orgreave was a massive injustice. And so is 30 years without a proper inquiry". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/18/orgreave-injustice-miners-ipcc-investigation-start-now. 
  29. Metcalf, Harvey & Jenkinson 2014, p. 112.
  30. Capstick, Ken (22 October 2012). "I saw the police violence at Orgreave. It's time for the truth to come out". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/22/police-violence-orgreave-miners-truth. 
  31. "The Battle of Orgreave". http://www.eventplan.co.uk/page79.html. 
  32. Conn, David (22 July 2015). "We were fed lies about the violence at Orgreave. Now we need the truth". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/22/orgreave-truth-police-miners-strike. 
  33. Conn, David (16 May 2016). "Orgreave inquiry calls grow after damning Hillsborough verdict for police". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/16/orgreave-inquiry-calls-grow-after-damning-hillsborough-verdict-for-south-yorkshire-police. 
  34. Peirce, Gareth (12 August 1985). "How they rewrote the law at Orgreave". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/from-the-archive-blog/2014/jun/17/orgreave-how-they-rewrote-the-law-1985. 
  35. Conn, David (21 October 2012). "Hillsborough investigation should be extended to Orgreave, says NUM leader". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/oct/21/hillsborough-investigation-extend-orgreave-miners. 
  36. "Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign". Otjc.org.uk. 28 October 2016. http://otjc.org.uk/. 
  37. Flannery, Kate; Etherington, David (20 March 2015). "Orgreave: no justice, no peace". Red Pepper. http://www.redpepper.org.uk/orgreave-no-justice-no-peace/. 
  38. "Orgreave Truth And Justice Campaign". Morning Star. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/t1a73c6-orgreave-truth-and-justice-campaign. 
  39. "Miners' strike: MP calls for Orgreave policing inquiry". BBC News. 22 October 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19981736. 
  40. "IPCC apologise for Orgreave probe delay". BBC News. 14 November 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-24938267. 
  41. Conn, David (12 June 2015). "IPCC will not investigate Orgreave police action during miners' strike". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/12/ipcc-will-not-investigate-orgreave-police-action-during-miners-strike. 
  42. "Police Watchdog 'Not Fit For Purpose', Argues MP". Morning Star. 19 June 2015. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-e0a2-Police-watchdog-not-fit-for-purpose,-argues-MP#.Vd2g5PlVhBc. 
  43. "Demand for Inquiry into Strike Clash at Orgreave". South Wales Echo (Cardiff). 3 May 2016. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-451212118.html. 
  44. Thomson, Alex (12 September 2016). "Orgreave: operational orders 'were wrong' – former officer". Channel 4 News. http://www.channel4.com/news/orgreave-operational-orders-were-wrong-former-officer. 
  45. Boffey, Daniel (1 October 2016). "Retired police to back miners over 1984 'battle of Orgreave'". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/01/orgreave-miners-strike-retired-police-evidence-cover-up. 
  46. Parsons, Rob (11 May 2016). "Open wound of Battle of Orgreave has still not healed, says Yorkshire MP". The Yorkshire Post (Leeds). http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/open-wound-of-battle-of-orgreave-has-still-not-healed-says-yorkshire-mp-1-7904144. 
  47. Conn, David (26 April 2016). "Hillsborough disaster: deadly mistakes and lies that lasted decades". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/26/hillsborough-disaster-deadly-mistakes-and-lies-that-lasted-decades. 
  48. Johnson, Dan (10 October 2016). "'Battle of Orgreave': Police 'had been relishing' clashes". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37609965. 
  49. Johnson, Dan (10 October 2016). "Orgreave police 'told to use as much force as possible'". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37612367. 
  50. "Martin Jenkinson retrospective to go on show in Sheffield". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/04/martin-jenkinson-retrospective-to-go-on-show-in-sheffield-who-we-are. 
  51. "Flags flown as Home Secretary urged to reach Orgreave decision". The Yorkshire Post (Leeds). 11 June 2016. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-region/south-yorkshire/flags-flown-as-home-secretary-urged-to-reach-orgreave-decision-1-7959499. 
  52. Davies, Liz (June 2009). "Better to have fought...". Socialist Lawyer (52): 3. ISSN 0954-3635.  http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0954-3635
  53. Ward 2006, p. 56.
  54. Milne, Seumas (20 June 1991). "Police to pay £425,000 to 39 arrested in miners' strike". The Guardian (London). http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A171184711/STND?sid=wikipedia. 
  55. Masterman 1984, p. 93.
  56. "Orgreave campaigners call for BBC strike coverage apology". BBC News. 18 June 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-27893072. 
  57. Harcup, Tony (4 March 2014). "Documents reveal BBC concern at 'imbalance' over coverage of miners' strike 'Battle of Orgreave'". Press Gazette (London). http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/miners-strike-30-years-foi-documents-reveal-bbc-misgivings-about-its-coverage. 
  58. Jones 2009, pp. 81–89.
  59. Moore, Sian (28 May 2009). "Shafted: The Media, the Miners' Strike and the Aftermath". Times Higher Education (London). https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/shafted-the-media-the-miners-strike-and-the-aftermath/406688.article. 
  60. Harcup 2013, p. 89.
  61. Routledge 1993, pp. 155–156.
  62. Alderson 1998, p. 154.
  63. "Darren Coffield. Ashes and Diamonds". Wall Street International. 2013. http://wsimag.com/art/4678-darren-coffield-ashes-and-diamonds. 
  64. Perryman, Mark. "Mark Perryman welcomes the release of the Orgreave Justice Double CD of rebel music, old and new". Union Solidarity International. https://usilive.org/opinions/rock-against-what-protest-music-makes-a-welcome-return-for-orgreave-justice-campaign. 
  65. Lazenby, Peter (16 June 2014). "Battle of Orgreave 30th Anniversary: We Demand Justice For Victims of Police Brutality, Says 1,500-Strong Crowd". Morning Star. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-16ab-Battle-of-Orgreave-30th-anniversary-We-demand-justice-for-victims-of-police-brutality,-says-1,500-strong-crowd. 
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