ST HELENS North MP Conor McGinn is demanding a better deal for former mine workers from St Helens and the region.

He has written to the trustees of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) to call for a meeting to review an arrangement that he says has deprived ex-miners of billions of pounds.

A statement from Mr McGinn's office says that under an agreement made by the Government and trustees of the British Coal pensions schemes in 1994, half of the surplus made by the MPS goes to the Government - totalling £3.36bn since 1994.

Mr McGinn and other Labour MPs from former coalfield communities are now calling for a meeting to hammer out a fairer deal for ex-miners.

He said: "Thousands of miners from St Helens and across the north west worked hard in difficult and dangerous conditions to build up a pension pot for their retirement.

"I believe they and their widows should have a much greater share of the huge surplus that has been built up.

"I want a meeting as soon as possible with the trustees who are managing the scheme so we can secure a far better deal for them."

This intervention follows his demand last year for the Government to reverse a "despicable" rule that makes it harder for former miners and their relatives to claim compensation for potentially fatal lung disease.