A bill offering a pardon for miners convicted of offences in the 1980s - including those in Stirling and Clackmannanshire - have been backed at Holyrood.
The Miners Strike Pardon Bill was unanimously passed last week, providing a pardon for miners who were convicted of offences during the 1984-85 strike.
The bill was introduced following an independent review led by John Scott QC looking into the impact of policing on Scottish communities during the industrial dispute.
The legislation also ensures a collective and automatic pardon for miners involved in strikes which extends to those in the miner’s household and close family members who may also have been convicted.
The bill pardons offences such as breach of the peace, obstructing a police officer, breach of bail and theft occurring during the 1984-85 strikes.
It makes Scotland the first home nation to introduce such legislation, with the further question of compensation for miners arrested during the strikes still yet to be settled.
Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed backed the plans and said: “It may have been over 35 years since the miners strikes but there is still much anger and pain felt in parts of Stirling about how the miners were treated – and rightly so.
“For decades, hundreds of men and their families dealt with the punishing consequences of striking and the convictions they received for their part in them.
“My heart goes out to the miners and their families, particularly those from the former Polmaise Colliery in Fallin, who were impacted so brutally, losing out on redundancy payments and pension rights as a result of being arrested for striking and then sacked by the National Coal Board.
“This pardon will, I hope, go some way in restoring dignity to individuals and their families involved.
“It is time for the UK Government to follow suit, recognise the passing of this historic legislation and give further consideration to a UK-wide public inquiry and the payment of compensation to former miners.”
