We face not an employer but a government aided and abetted by the judiciary, the police and you people in the media Arthur Scargill, NUM

Miners braving the cold and rain outside the TUC's London headquarters, Congress House, for news of the vote were disappointed with the decision; some were in tears, others chanted: "We will not go back to work".

The NUM president, Mr Scargill told a news conference: "We have decided to go back for a whole range of reasons. One of the reasons is that the trade union movement of Britain with a few notable exceptions has left this union isolated.

"Another reason is that we face not an employer but a government aided and abetted by the judiciary, the police and you people in the media and at the end of this time our people are suffering tremendous hardship."

Cheers greeted Mr Scargill when he emerged from Congress House - but the mood quickly changed and he was booed and jeered as he announced the return to work.

The chief spokesman for the National Coal Board, Michael Eaton, said: "There is no victory. The coal industry has lost, it's the victim. We have lost markets, we have lost good labour relations over the course of this dispute."

He said there would be no amnesty for workers sacked during the dispute over violence on picket lines and damage to Coal Board property.

Major structural changes in the industry are still planned. The strike began in March 1984 over plans to cut production costs by closing up to 20 pits.

Miners have still not agreed a 1983 pay increase - and had been operating a ban on overtime. The NCB has made clear no back pay will be awarded until the ban is lifted.

The Treasury has estimated the strike has cost the country �1.5bn - the NUM puts the cost far higher. It includes extra money paid for running power stations on oil rather than coal, extra policing, as well as money lost by the steel industry and rail network.

The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, said she was very relieved the strike was over, "I want a prosperous coal industry," she said "The miners would have been back earlier if the strike had not been kept going by intimidation and I am very glad now they can go back."

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