When British Coal was privatized in 1994, an agreement was made for the government to cover pension payments, supplemented by inflation-linked increases, if the scheme ran out of money. In exchange, the state would receive half of the profits.

The plan was not submitted to the members at the time and it sparked a bitter 30-year battle to get the money back.

The government has since maintained the ‘Investment Reserve Fund’, an emergency reserve of £1.5 billion built up from its share of profits, which would be the first port of call if the scheme falls short.

However, Miliband returned the entire fund to the miners, in a move he said would end an “injustice” and repay a “debt of gratitude”, with fellow minister Sarah Jones saying Labor had ended a “scandal”.

This was confirmed in the budget, along with compensation for those affected by the Post Office and infected blood scandals.

£1.5 billion is the same amount the government will save every year after removal of fuel payments in winter of 10 million retirees, which would finance around 39,000 nurses according to the charity The King’s Fund.

According to publicly available documents, the program recorded a surplus of £1.5 billion in 2017 and a deficit of £225 million in 2020. Its last newsletter also reported a surplus of £1.5 billion. .1 billion pounds sterling in 2023.

With the Investment Reserve Fund now empty, taxpayers will have to fund any pension shortfall. However, the government refuses to publish the 2023 assessment, which would reveal the full financial situation of the scheme.

Shadow industry minister Greg Smith said: “This is proof that Labor is financially incompetent. It’s all very well that Starmer says he wants to be a government with integrity, (but) if they don’t even show the figures when they hand out £1.5 billion, people will raise their eyebrows and ask questions – and rightly so.

“Be transparent and act with integrity, or don’t and don’t be surprised if people doubt your intentions and motivations. »

Conservative MP Bob Blackman said this was what he expected from Labour, adding: “The fact is it’s a bit like this so-called ‘£22 billion black hole’ that no one is is able to designate.

“Once again, (Labour) are quoting figures without actually providing the details behind them and the public clearly has a right to know where the money is going and on what basis.

“They present a broad pattern and yet, without any background or detail, they expect anyone to believe them. Maybe they’re right. In this case, what do they have to hide?

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero rejected the accusations, but said the assessment would not be published “due to the sensitive nature of the content”.

A spokesperson said: “We reject these figures and strongly support the independent evaluation of the miners’ pension scheme, which shows a surplus of more than £1 billion.

“We have agreed to the transfer of the Investment Reserve Fund to scheme members, ending a historic injustice and ensuring fair payments for years to come. »

As well as returning the Investment Reserve Fund, Labor has repeatedly pledged to review the scheme’s other “unfair” profit-sharing arrangements.

The party was accused of “treason” last month when he said there were no plans to return money to the more than 40,000 former miners of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme, many of whom held senior positions alongside members of the miners’ pension scheme .

Successive governments have made a profit of £4.7 billion from the miners’ pension scheme without ever having to contribute.