The Serious Fraud Office and South Yorkshire Police have dropped their investigation into allegations of fraudulently handled miner’s compensation claims due to insufficient evidence.

See BBC news report

So who are the losers?

On one hand, the individuals against whom the allegations had been made. One said that the last five years had been a hideous and heartbreaking time.

But the real losers were the miners and their families who had their expectations cruelly raised by John Mann’s campaign of public meetings and media appearances promising a payout.

Some of these people may have spent savings or even borrowed money against the prospect of a future payment and now will not only be disappointed but also in a financially poorer position than they might have been without all the hoo-haa.

Any decent advocate would have gone about this quietly as there was never any guarantee of further compensation unless and until a fraud had been proved in a court of law. But not Mr Mann. Never shying away from an opportunity to publicise himself, he shouted this from the rooftops.

And has John Mann made any apology?

Not on your life.

And in this week’s Worksop Guardian, through his mouthpiece, he says he is set to call for a public enquiry after the election.

What a piece of work he is.