Pit Closures: Scargill hails 'splendid' court victory: Miners jubilant as judges declare programme unlawful and order independent review

THE HIGH COURT yesterday declared unlawful the Government's decision to close 10 collieries by the end of January and ordered independent scrutiny of the decision.

Lord Justice Glidewell, sitting with Mr Justice Hidden, said that management would now have to undertake a consultation mechanism similar to the industry's modified colliery review procedure (MCRP) which can take up to nine months.

Union leaders hailed the decision as a great victory and urged British Coal to restart production at the mines.

The 10 pits are already the subject of a 90-day consultation period, which started on 19 October and which should be counted as part of the new inquiry, the judges said. British Coal said last night that it was considering an appeal.

The judgment said the new procedure for the 10 pits should be worked out between unions and management and suggested that the US mining consultants Boyds should be involved as an independent expert. The Department of Trade and Industry has already employed Boyds to investigate the viability of 21 other collieries, which were originally earmarked for closure but are now the subject of a moratorium.

Earlier this year, a report from Boyds suggested that five of the 10 pits to be closed were sufficiently viable to be privatised.

Yesterday's judgment found that the Government and British Coal 'unlawfully and irrationally' ignored the rights of mineworkers and their unions to be consulted before deciding to close the pits.

The judges outlawed the original decision, announced on 13 October by Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade, to close all 31 collieries because miners had been denied their 'legitimate expectation' that they would be consulted under the MCRP.

They also outlawed, and in addition quashed, the revised decision taken six days later by Mr Heseltine ordering the closure of 10 pits, while the remaining 21 underwent a full review.

The judges declared: 'British Coal shall not reach a final decision on the closure of the 10 collieries, nor shall the President (of the Board of Trade) make available funds which would enable British Coal to make such a decision, until a procedure substantially the same as MCRP, including some form of independent scrutiny, has been followed in relation to each of the 10 collieries.'

The decisions announced on 13 and 19 October were 'in the sphere of public law' and therefore subject to judicial review.

Later, Arthur Scargill, president of the National Union of Mineworkers, said the decision was 'splendid' and effectively put the most vulnerable 10 pits in the same position as those which are now the subject of a moratorium. Peter McNestry, of Nacods, the pit supervisors' union, said the judges had made it clear there would have to be 'realistic and meaningful' consultations.

The legal costs of the High Court battle are unofficially estimated at pounds 500,000. The judges awarded the UDM all its costs, while the NUM will receive 50 per cent of its legal expenses against British Coal and 40 per cent against Mr Heseltine.

Mr Scargill said he understood that John Smith, leader of the Labour Party, would be writing to John Major, and Robin Cook to Mr Heseltine, asking that the threat to close the 31 pits is immediately rescinded and that the decision of the High Court be accepted by the Government.

Mr Scargill added: 'In addition, we are asking that the 10 pits earmarked for immediate closure are put into full operational order again immediately and placed in the same review process as the other 21 pits. The decision of the High Court entirely sustains that approach.'

(Photograph omitted)