Hucknall Today: 30th June 2005

Miners' union in fraud probe

HUNDREDS of sick former pitmen in Hucknall and Bulwell have been shocked to discover that a mining union is at the centre of a high-profile police investigation.
....Only days after a memorial to Hucknall's mining history was unveiled, fraud-squad detectives launched a criminal inquiry into the workings of the Mansfield-based Union Of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM).
.... The inquiry centres on the world's largest personal-injury compensation-scheme - a £7.5 billion programme set up by the government in 1999 to pay ex-miners struck down by illnesses, such as lung disease, caused by years of working on the coalface.
.... The UDM is said to have made millions from the scheme and the investigation will focus on the relationship between the union and Vendside, a company it set up to handle floods of compensation claims.
.... Police officers are also said to be investigating accusations of misappropriation of money.
.... It is also understood that the financial affairs of the UDM's vice-president Mick Stevens and Vendside's head of claims Clare Walker might also come under scrutiny.
.... UDM president Neil Greatrex, formerly based at Babbington Colliery, which was on the outskirts of the Dispatch district at Cinderhill, has denied any wrongdoing by the union.
....Mr Greatrex refused to make any further comment before speaking to lawyers. But a union spokesman said: "We were shocked to learn that a police inquiry has been launched. We will, of course, offer full assistance to the authorities looking at this matter.
.... "We have always acted in the best interests of our members in securing them tens of millions of pounds in compensation.
.... "We apologise for any alarm this publicity has caused our members and the wider community."
.... The UDM was formed during the bitter miners' strike of 1984 when rebel pitmen in Hucknall and the rest of Nottinghamshire refused to back the walkout ordered by Arthur Scargill's National Union Of Mineworkers (NUM).
.... Most miners in the Dispatch district remained members until the pits closed in the 1980s.
.... But many were subsequently struck down by pit-related illnesses, such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema and the debilitating hand condition, vibration white finger (VWF).
.... And in November 2001, the Dispatch launched a 'Pay Our Pitmen' campaign to highlight the plight of former miners who were struggling to win compensation.
....The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) duly entered into an agreement with 700 solicitors' firms to handle claims. In return, the DTI would foot the bill for legal fees.
.... But a separate agreement was reached between the UDM and Vendside, which was allowed to handle claims on a no-win, no-fee basis without the involvement of outside lawyers.
.... Vendside has since received £19 million in costs, paid by the DTI, for thousands of claims, including hundreds in the Dispatch district, settled in-house by its own staff.
.... It is alleged that this helped the UDM to pre-tax profits of £6.3 million.
.... It is also alleged that the UDM/Vendside partnership has earned £25 million by passing on more than 10,000 registered compensation cases to be processed by solicitors' firms.

Previous reports have expressed concerns about Vendside's practice of charging non-union members an extra £300 for claims.
.... Hucknall Labour MP Paddy Tipping, who has worked on behalf of local miners, said this week: "I have been concerned for a long time about the amount of money claimed in professional fees.
.... "The top-paid solicitor's firm has received £66 million, while Vendside has received £19 million.
.... "My concern about Vendside is that it's double charging. All professional fees are met by the DTI, yet Vendside charges a percentage of the claim for non-union members. That in itself is not illegal but I believe it is immoral and I've made this clear to the UDM.
.... "These are serious allegations and I'm delighted the UDM says it's going to co-operate with the inquiry."
.... Detectives leading the investigation have stressed that it is in its early stages.
....News of the inquiry comes little more than a year after accusations were levelled at the UDM in Parliament by Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price, who said thousands of ex-miners were being "ripped off".