TRADE Secretary Patricia Hewitt was stung into action today over the threatened Selby pit complex.

She telephoned Selby MP John Grogan after he launched a ferocious attack in a Commons debate, saying a Labour government was in danger of giving miners even worse treatment than Margaret Thatcher had meted out in the 1980s. Mr Grogan warned that unless the Government intervened with £100 million of state aid as part of a closure package for the complex, miners would once again experience family breakdowns, hardships and suicides triggered by previous pit closures.

He said that Government inaction could result in the complex closing as early as next year, which would result in miners missing out on more generous redundancy payments worth up to £27,000 each.

Mrs Hewitt - stung by the references to Lady Thatcher - phoned Mr Grogan in his London office to say she would be meeting UK Coal bosses on May 2.

She also told him she was seriously considering the situation facing Selby, which has lost £92 million over the last three years. The talks on May 2 will focus on the possibility of closure aid to manage the shutdown of the coalfield, which could happen anytime between the end of next year and 2005. UK Coal says it will make a decision on Selby's future within the next two months.

Mr Grogan said today that the phone call from Mrs Hewitt was a "very welcome development" and showed she was seriously considering the issue.

He said: "It's going to be a rough and rocky ride, but at least no doors are yet closed."

Updated: 15:12 Thursday, April 18, 2002