MINERS seeking a Hillsborough-style inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave have welcomed an “extremely positive meeting” with the government.

The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) said it told Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that an inquiry should be held as a matter of urgency into events outside a coking plant in Yorkshire on June 18 1984.

The delegation included miners arrested during violent clashes with police, which led to allegations of police brutality and government involvement.

Campaigners want the government to press ahead with its pre-election commitment to an inquiry into the actions of police.

Kevin Horne, one of the miners arrested at Orgreave, said: “Much of the police conduct at Orgreave, and on picket lines throughout the strike, was out of control.

“It is now over 40 years since striking miners, fighting to save our jobs and communities, were attacked and arrested by police for picketing the Orgreave coking plant during the 84-5 miners’ strike.

“As the years roll by, and many miners have died, those of us left, and our families, need answers about what the government planned and what the police did.”

The campaign group said an inquiry had moved closer following the meeting.