A film about events during the 1984/85 miners’ strike is to be screened in Broadstairs on Sunday 12 November.
Called “The Battle for Orgreave” the film explores what happened when striking miners and police clashed at the Orgreave coking plant in one of the most violent encounters in British industrial history.
Organised by the North East Kent Trades Union Council (NEKTUC), the screening is part of a campaign for a full and independent inquiry into the events at Orgreave, despite refusals by the government.
Pauline Farrance of NEKTUK said: “What happened during the Miners’ Strike may seem a long time ago now but how the police handled the strikers at Orgreave. and the lack of justice in the prosecution proceedings which followed, remain issues of huge importance to every one of us.
“We have only to look at the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989, where the families of the dead and injured were tenacious in their fight for truth and justice. It was only in 2012 that the Independent Police Complaints Commission finally held an investigation, when one of the findings was that over 200 police statements had been altered.”
Pauline, a former Thanet councillor, added: “Our democracy depends on the right of people to speak out and protest in defence of their rights. If we lose that right we’re finished.”
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Orgreave campaigner, Chris Peace and high-profile lawyer, Matt Foot. Brought up in a rural mining community, Chris Peace currently works as a criminal defence solicitor. Matt Foot, a criminal defence lawyer for 25 years, has specialised in appeals, protest and terrorism cases. He is the co-author of “Charged – How The Police Try To Suppress Protest” and will be doing a book signing at the event.
NEKTUC is funding the event — all proceeds will go to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, which is working towards a major demonstration in Sheffield on June 18 -the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Orgreave,
The screening is on Sunday 12 November at the Palace Cinema, Harbour Street, Broadstairs CT10 1ET. Doors open at 12noon. Tickets are £5 in advance, £10 cash on the door. To book a place email [email protected]
