Miners' strike pardon

The  Miners' Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act 2022 took effect from 27 July 2022.

It provides a collective and automatic pardon to former miners, household members of a miner, parents, siblings and children of a miner who were convicted for a breach of the peace, breaching bail conditions, and an offence under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 such as police obstruction. 

Such an offence must have related to conduct which took place between 12 March 1984 and 3 March 1985 inclusive and while an individual was: 

• engaged or participating in activity supporting or opposing the miners’ strike; or 
• assembling before or after such activity; or  
• travelling to or from such activity; or  
• responding to such activity 

Conduct relating to personal matters not connected to the strike is excluded from the pardon. 

A pardon is also given to the offence of theft where this was committed to relieve economic hardship arising from participation in the miners’ strike – where either the qualifying individual was a participant in the strike, or they committed theft to help someone else who was participating in the strike.  

Further enquiries about the pardon and the qualifying criteria can be emailed to minersstrikepardon@gov.scot or by writing to: 

Miners' Strike Pardon 
Scottish Government 
St. Andrew's House 
Regent Road 
Edinburgh 
EH1 3DG 

Anyone who believes that they have suffered a miscarriage of justice should contact the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

We are also continuing to press the UK Government to instruct a full UK public inquiry into the policing of the strike. Read the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans’ latest letter to the UK Government.