Orgreave investigation 'will begin next month'

A probe into alleged police brutality at the 1984 Orgreave miners' picket is set to go ahead.

A delegation from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) met Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Tuesday to press the case for an inquiry.

The Government will review the so-called Battle of Orgreave but the format is yet to be decided.

Ms Rudd is set to appoint a lawyer in October to assess material relating to the trouble, according to The Times.

She wants to push ahead with an investigation that delivers answers that are "complete" but does not want "something that could drag on for years", a source told the newspaper.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham, who has campaigned on the issue, said reports that an inquiry would go ahead were "encouraging".

Around 6,000 officers, many with riot gear, horses and dogs, are alleged to have used excessive force to suppress a miners' strike at Orgreave coking works in South Yorkshire.

Former policeman Mike Freeman has told how officers were ordered to write statements for arrests they had not made while veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner said he saw ''dogs and horses'' being set on picketers.

A total of 95 miners were charged following the clashes at the plant between Sheffield and Rotherham but their trial collapsed.

South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC in 2012 over allegations officers colluded to write court statements.

The watchdog later said the passage of time prevented a formal investigation, but that there was ''support'' for the allegation that senior police exaggerated pickets' use of violence.