MINISTERS have admitted their £2.5bn miners' compensation scheme was flawed from the start because it was too complex - delaying badly-needed payments.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it now believed its complicated handling agreements were unsuitable for a scheme attempting to process up to 750,000 claims.

Instead, it should have opted for a simpler process that would have made average payments to groups of former miners - even if that was "less fair" to some.

But a committee of MPs, which has completed an inquiry into the scheme, cleared the DTI of blame for failing to anticipate how many ex-pitmen would apply.

While describing the wrong estimates as disturbing, its report concluded: "It is not clear from the evidence submitted to us how the DTI could have been expected to gauge better the demand."

Praising significant efforts to make the system work better, the committee said: "In general, those efforts have borne fruit."

Attempts to speed up stalled claims had resulted in delay, confusion and resentment, but this was due to teething troubles, according to the MPs.

But one North-East solicitor said the DTI could not escape blame for its mistakes as the scheme developed.

Roger Maddocks, a partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: "There was a failure to train the claims handlers appropriately and to hold to account the performance of the DTI's contractors."

The trade and industry select committee launched its inquiry amid rising complaints that payments were taking too long, with some payments too little.

The report does criticise a failure to reach agreement on a minimum payment of £500, but does not apportion blame.

The heaviest criticism was reserved for the DTI's refusal to accept claims from surface workers - a position that "may be legally watertight, but does not seem to be just".