TWO senior officials of a mineworkers’ union who are being investigated by the police over the administration of the world’s largest industrial compensation scheme are to stand down.

After revelations in The Times this week Mick Stevens, the vice-president of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM), and Clare Walker, the head of claims at Vendside, a subsidiary of the UDM, offered to stand down and not return to work until the inquiries are complete.

The UDM announcement came as Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister, said that he had asked the chief constable of South Yorkshire to press ahead with the investigation “with all speed” and offered his department’s full co-operation.

One of the law firms involved in the police investigation, The Times has learnt, is employing the son and close friend of a former Energy Minister.

Josh Battle, 27, whose father, John, was the Energy Minister in 1999 when the first of the compensation schemes was set up, has worked since last year as a marketing consultant for the Doncaster law firm Beresfords, which has earned £27.2 million in government fees for settling miners’ claims.

Mark Farrell, Beresfords’ managing director, insisted yesterday that Josh Battle’s full-time job was not as a solicitor and he had never been involved in work on coal health claims. He said that Mr Battle was a long-time personal friend of the son-in-law of Jim Beresford, the firm’s senior partner.

Beresfords has also given part-time PR consultancy work on environmental matters to David Bowe, who was a Labour MEP for 15 years until last summer.

Mr Bowe, a friend of John Battle, told The Times that Beresfords were “one of the good guys” and said that he was offered work with the solicitors’ firm after a conversation with the former Energy Minister.

“I was talking to John Battle, MP, one day, saying, ‘I’m looking round for some consultancy work’,” Mr Bowe said.

“The next week his son rang me, who actually works for Beresfords, saying ‘My dad says that you’re looking for consultancy work. Would you come and talk to James Beresford?’ So that’s what happened.”

Mr Farrell said that it would be totally wrong and “wholly inappropriate” to suggest that Beresfords had given jobs to Josh Battle and Mr Bowe as a favour to John Battle.

There is no suggestion that John Battle, Josh Battle or Mr Bowe have any involvement with any matters that are the subject of the police investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Trade and Industry said yesterday that as a Minister Mr Battle had approved the overall strategy that led to the signing of claimshandling agreements with the UDM, although Mr Battle insisted last night that he had no knowledge of the role of Vendside in the process.

Under the deal Vendside has earned £19 million in government fees, and pre-tax profits totalling £6.3 million, for settling miners’ claims in-house.

The agreement also allowed the UDM to pass on thousands of its claims to a select group of solicitors’ firms that have earned a further £25 million from the UDM cases.

Detectives are investigating fees paid by Beresfords and the Sheffield-based solicitors Wake Smith to a company called Indiclaim, which is owned by Miss Walker. Beresfords says that it was instructed to make the payments by Mr Stevens.

John Battle, the MP for Leeds West, a member of the Privy Council and the Prime Minister’s unofficial adviser on faith issues, was Energy Minster from 1997 to 1999.

He said last night that he had not introduced either his son or Mr Bowe to Beresfords. He also said that he had never spoken to Beresfords about Mr Bowe.

The Department of Trade and Industry has ordered the UDM to supply details of every claim that it has settled in-house and every claim that it has chosen to pass to outside solicitors.

In a statement to the House of Commons Mr Wicks said: “This will enable us to ensure that any potential fraud is capped.” He said that the DTI would give its full co-operation to the police inquiry and revealed that he had not ruled out the option of suspending the operation of the UDM contract while the police inquiries continue.

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