MARIE Rimmer has added her voice to those MPs calling for an investigation into the South Yorkshire Police and its actions at Orgreave during the miners' strike.

She said: "The recent enquiry into the Hillsborough tragedy highlighted a number of issues in the way that South Yorkshire Police handled the aftermath of the tragedy. This including altering statements to 'deflect blame'

"The similarities with the actions of South Yorkshire Police in relation to Hillsborough and Orgreave are striking and certainly give grave cause for concern and warrant further investigation.

"In former mining communities such as my constituency, the need for an open, honest and trusting relationship between the police and the public they serve and protect is paramount and an investigation could go some way to repairing any loss of trust that may have been caused."

Following her election to Parliament Rimmer was one of the initial signatories of a motion that 'strongly condemned the decision of the independent police Complaints Commission not to launch a full and comprehensive investigation into the behaviour of South Yorkshire Police at the Orgreave Coking Plant'.

The motion also went further and called for a full investigation into the behaviour of the police during the entire 1984-85 miners' strike.

Rimmer said: "The Hillsborough enquiry has also shown the value of revisiting previous events in the interest of justice. I believe that the events surrounding Orgreave and the wider 1984-85 miners' strike would benefit from this type of scrutiny. The opportunity to learn vital lessons from the past is crucial in moving forward and ensuring that these events do not re-occur."