Katy Clark calls for review of convicted miners

SCOTTISH Labour deputy leadership candidate Katy Clark has called on ministers to order a review of the criminal records of miners convicted in Scotland during the year-long strike in 1984-85 over pit closures.

It's claimed nearly 500 miners were convicted in Scotland during the strike.

Ms Clark, who is standing against shadow education secretary Kezia Dugdale in the party’s deputy leadership election, has written to the Scottish government asking for a Hillsborough style inquiry into the dispute.

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The call came after Labour leadership candidate Neil Findlay published a report backed by employment law experts Thompsons and the PCS union, that claimed the convictions of nearly 500 striking miners in Scotland during the year-long strike over pit closures are unsafe and were politically motivated.

Ms Clark said: “Many of the criminal convictions brought against striking miners during the 1984/5 dispute appear political in nature.

“Recently released evidence suggests that there was specific targeting, arrests and convictions of workers who were trying to protect their and their families’ way of life.

“I have already written to the Scottish Government to undertake this review now, and would urge any constituents who share my concerns over these convictions of ordinary workers to also write to the Scottish Government and press them to take action immediately.”

The Scottish Government has said it has no plans to hold an inquiry into the miners’ strike.”

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