Papers relating to Orgreave incident, believed to contain information about infamous police baton strike, were allegedly destroyed by police during 1984-85 miners’ strike.

Police are believed to have destroyed documents related to operations during the 1984 miners’ strike, including a report on a violent incident in which an officer hit a miner over the head with a truncheon. In the ITV News at 10 report on the violent scenes at Orgreave, the officer, PC Martin of Northumbria police, was seen hitting the miner, Russell Broomhead, several times with his truncheon. Northumbria police have faced criticism for destroying two boxes of documents relating to the strike and the Orgreave operation just months before a general election in which the Labour party, which had pledged to hold an inquiry into what happened at Orgreave, was expected to win. The timing of the destruction has raised accusations that the force aimed to avoid scrutiny of its officers’ actions. The violence at the Orgreave coking plant, where thousands of miners assembled for a massive picket met by thousands of police officers, is remembered as a significant confrontation of the bitter 1984-85 strike. The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign has called for an inquiry into the police operation and the failed prosecutions of 95 miners for riot and unlawful assembly. Northumbria police previously confirmed that they held documents relevant to the policing at Orgreave, including a report by a superintendent who was the liaison officer for officers sent to South Yorkshire. In 2016, Northumbria’s then chief constable wrote to Yvette Cooper, then the chair of the home affairs select committee, explaining that the superintendent’s report detailed the incident involving a police officer believed to have struck a ‘picket’ with his truncheon. The report was sent to the director of public prosecutions who decided not to bring charges. Broomhead has expressed his disbelief that a report on the incident involving him had been destroyed without his knowledge or consent. The destruction of important documents by Northumbria police has raised concerns about potential cover-ups and denied justice.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/19/orgreave-papers-destroyed-by-police-thought-to-include-report-on-notorious-truncheon-beating