Miners' pension fund surplus is our money, ex-miner says

Former miners in Wales are calling for a review of their pension fund, arguing they should be awarded a larger share of surplus money.

Currently, the UK government takes 50% of a surplus from the scheme as part of a guarantee that pensions would continue to be paid after the coal industry was privatised in 1994.

The UK government said pensions were approximately 30% larger than they would have been otherwise, and that the UK Treasury had received more than £3bn in return for the guarantee.

Former miner Ken Sullivan, from Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, has collected a petition with 8,000 names calling for a review of the deal.

He claimed the UK government had taken much more than £3bn from the pension fund.