Last month, this Labour government announced an inquiry into the horrific events that took place at Orgreave during the Miners’ Strike in 1984.

Miners who had made the difficult decision to go on strike in order to protect their livelihoods were assaulted, wrongfully arrested, and falsely prosecuted in a shocking series of events.

In total, 95 picketers were arrested and initially charged with riot and violent disorder, but all charges were later dropped after evidence was discredited. I know that there are also many miners who are still struggling with the physical and mental effects of how they were treated and the injustice of the events at Orgreave.

This understandably led to a deep-rooted mistrust of South Yorkshire Police, with people across Barnsley and beyond still struggling to trust in the police force.

For too long, people across Barnsley, and across coalfield communities more broadly, have been fighting for justice for what happened to them on that day.

That is why I am proud that this Government are delivering on our Manifesto promise, and are finally launching an inquiry into Orgreave.

The Inquiry will be chaired by the Rt Reverend Dr Pete Wilcox, the Bishop of Sheffield, and will be statutory- meaning that it will have the power to compel people to provide information where necessary.

This is an important part of this Government’s Plan for Change, which aims to rebuild the public’s confidence in policing across the country. However, trust cannot be formed when there are still questions to be answered about the past.

I am hopeful that this Inquiry will deliver some closure to coalfield communities like Barnsley, and lay the foundations for trust to be fostered as we move forward.

Throughout my time representing Barnsley in Parliament, from mentioning Orgreave in my Maiden Speech, and a number of times since, I have been pleased to meet with the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, the National Union of Mineworkers, and many others who have been campaigning for this historical wrong to be addressed, once and for all.

I pay tribute to all those who have continued to stand up for what is right and call for this Inquiry throughout the last 40 years.

I know that this is a huge moment for miners across the country. I am proud that this Labour Government are delivering for our coalfield communities, addressing the injustices of the past, so that we can collectively move forward with trust in our police force.

I hope that this will be a chance to learn from the appalling events at Orgreave, deliver closure to those affected, and move forward once and for all.