A CAMPAIGN was launched yesterday to stop the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) taking a slice of compensation awarded to ill ex-pitmen in County Durham.

The Action Group for Miners (AGM) will fight for the return of the "missing millions" wrongly taken from former miners and their widows by dozens of solicitors firms across the country.

Yesterday, the group's president, former Durham Police chief superintendent Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate said the behaviour of the NUM in the county would be in its sights.

The Law Society is investigating at least ten cases in which the union took 7.5 per cent of payouts from claims it passed on to solicitors in a "membership" fee.

The AGM condemns the practice as an "abuse of the system", because all fees for administering compensation claims are paid by the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI).

The Serious Fraud Office is already carrying out a criminal inquiry into the financial relationship between law firms and the Union of Democratic Mineworkers in Nottinghamshire.

Speaking at the launch in Westminster, Lord Mackenzie said: "It is disgraceful to require miners and widows who have never been members of the union to pay this fee.

"The NUM in Durham must put its house in order. The very people that miners should be relying on for help are letting them down."

Durham North MP Kevan Jones said he had referred ten cases to the Law Society for investigation and urged other claimants to come forward.

A spokesman for Durham NUM said it made a "voluntary" deduction from compensation payments of 7.5 per cent, up to a limit of £1,000.

He added: "The deductions are used solely for the benefit of the union's members, their families and dependents, to maintain their well-being and to help them win justified compensation."

In Northumberland, the union also asks only for a voluntary contribution.

The AGM, which has the backing of more than 100 MPs, hopes to meet Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks in the next few weeks to press for Government action.

An independent inquiry into the coal health scheme last year recommended miners should be reimbursed if they were not informed in advance that the fees were not compulsory.

The AGM, through its Fair Deal for Miners campaign, will hold surgeries in mining areas across the country in the coming months.

It has also joined a group action in the High Court on behalf of 20 former colliery workers who, it is alleged, were unawfully denied their compensation.

* Former miners or their widows who are seeking help with compensation claims can contact the AGM's free helpline, on 0800 083 5417.