SNP MP launches legal bid to pardon miners for strike offences

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An SNP MP has launched a legal bid to pardon miners convicted of offences during infamous strikes in the 1980s. Owen Thompson will present a bill to the UK Parliament calling for a law change to overturn the convictions of hundreds of miners during the violent industrial dispute.

The Midlothian MP wants to extend a law passed in Scotland last year to England and Wales. He said the "convictions were a travesty of justice" and that the miners were "heroes, not criminals".It comes after he called for Labour leader Keir Starmer to include a pardon in his election manifesto.

Thompson said: “A Miners' Pardon would be a powerful symbol of reconciliation. It would show we are prepared to put the past behind us and move on. “The miners' strike of 1984-1985 was one of the most bitter and divisive events in British history. “It was a time when the miners, who were fighting for their jobs and their communities, were met with the full force of the state. “Thousands of miners were arrested and many were convicted of offences such as breach of the peace, obstruction of the police and breach of bail conditions. “These convictions were a travesty of justice.

The miners were heroes, not criminals. They were fighting for their livelihoods and the future of their communities. “The Scottish Parliament has already passed a law pardoning miners who were convicted in Scotland during the strike. “It is now time for the UK government to do the same for those miners in England and Wales. “It is a matter of justice.