Miners' fraud inquiry dropped

A CRIMINAL investigation into whether miners were defrauded of money owed in compensation claims has been discontinued due to lack of evidence, the Serious Fraud Office said yesterday.

The SFO said in June 2005 it was investigating claims of misappropriation of funds involved in the multi-billion-pound miners' ill-health compensation scheme. It was set up in 1999 and has paid out to tens of thousands of miners suffering from chronic lung disease and vibration white finger.

The investigation centred on the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, which broke from the NUM during the 1984 strike.