MSP Claire Baker, has welcomed progress from the independent review into the miners’ strikes and has urged those involved to share their experiences.

One of the early confrontations of the 1984-85 dispute came at Cartmore, in Lochgelly, when coal was being transported from an open cast site to Longannet and pickets tried to obstruct the lotty movements.

The call comes as John Scott QC has issued a call for evidence as part of his review of police behaviour during the miners’ strike.

The long awaited review will look at the year-long UK strike in 1984-85. During that time, miners protested against the closure of pits by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Government.

It is estimated that 500 Scottish miners were arrested during the clashes. Despite having only 10% of the UK’s mining workforce, the country had 30% of the arrests from the year-long strike.

The call for evidence is open until November 30 and views can be submitted online or in writing, by post or email. The review is expected to report back to the Scottish Government in 2019.

Commenting, Claire Baker MSP said: “Labour have been pushing for this long awaited inquiry for some time and I am pleased to see it move forward and look to engage directly with those impacted by the strikes.

“This must be the next step in ensuring justice that many miners and the Scottish mining communities deserve.

“We need answers to the tactics used by police during that time and as to why the proportion of arrests where three times higher than the proportion of workforce.

“I’d therefore urge anyone involved in the strikes to make themselves known to the review and submit their evidence".

The Kelty lady concluded: “We all deserve to know the truth about what happened in Scotland during that period.”

There were a number of arrests over a period of several days at Cartmore and court cases followed.