The South Wales Argus’ 25,000-name Justice for Miners petition has been delivered to the House of Commons.
MPs heard the Argus’ appeal for immediate compensation payments to sick and dying exminers at a special Commons sitting last week as Energy Minister Peter Hain announced that 440 priority cases in Wales will be tested and paid within 18 weeks.
Prime minister Tony Blair wrote an exclusive article for the Argus,
congratulating the paper on its campaign, saying: "I want you to keep up the pressure on us."
Argus editor Gerry Keighley said: "This was a landmark occasion, but it does not represent victory or the end of our campaign. That will only come when every former miner, and every widow of a former miner, has the compensation due to them for the dreadful chest diseases that have so blighted their lives."
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