SOLICITORS who took up to £8,000 intended as compensation for crippled ex-miners face Government pressure to pay the money back.

Energy Minister Nigel Griffiths has pledged to write to all coal health solicitors asking those who have charged legal fees to reimburse the former pit-men.

But Mr Griffiths has stopped short of ordering the solicitors to give the cash back.

The minister said the Department of Trade and Industry had agreed to pay legal expenses for the scheme to compensate former miners with emphysema or Vibration White Finger (VWF).

Therefore, there was no excuse for solicitors to deduct any of the pay-outs awarded.

Mr Griffiths told MPs that he hoped they would see sense before the Law Society begins an investigation into over-charging in the New Year.

If they fail to respond to the Government's request, the Law Society can impose sanctions against the solicitors.

John Grogan, a Labour backbencher spearheading the campaign for the cash to be repaid, said Mr Griffiths' letter was welcome news for miners and their widows.

In a written ministerial statement, Mr Griffiths said: "I deplore any attempt to charge sick miners or their widows and families for legal expenses which are already covered by the DTI.

"I am very pleased that the Law Society, which regulates solicitors' charges, has agreed to investigate the issue of over-charging in the New Year."

More than 100 MPs, including several from the North-East, have now signed a parliamentary motion attacking the solicitors for their actions.