Closing of British Coal Pits Unlawful, Court Rules

The British government suffered a deep embarrassment Monday when its decision last October to close 31 coal mining pits was ruled unlawful by High Court judges.

Two justices declared that the British government and British Coal acted “unlawfully and irrationally” in announcing the closure of 31 coal pits--though the Monday ruling affected only the government’s plan to shut down the first 10 money-losing mines.

The ruling of the High Court is subject to appeal, if the government chooses.

Monday’s ruling throws the entire coal-reduction program into confusion and raises the possibility that all 31 pits may stay open, saving 30,000 jobs--which is more than half of the mining work force. The court said that the government had ignored the right of mine workers and their unions to be consulted before deciding to close pits.

Labor Party members of Parliament immediately called for the resignation of Michael Heseltine, the secretary for trade and industry who approved government-supervised British Coal’s plan to close down what were called unproductive mines. The plan to shut the mines, in favor of boosting the natural gas industry, met with a national outcry.

British Coal said late Monday that it was considering an appeal of the judgment, viewed as a significant victory for the National Union of Mineworkers, led by Arthur Scargill. The unions said the ruling means that development and coaling should resume at the 10 mines, which had been expected to close at the end of next month and where coal production has already stopped.

The ruling may also damage the government’s energy strategy by forcing power stations to use coal rather than natural gas and to stockpile coal at some cost to the taxpayer.

Monday’s decision does not rule out the eventual closure of the pits; it says only that British Coal should not reach a final decision on the 10 sites until more legal procedures are worked out.