Arthur Scargill was the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1972 until his retirement in 1992. He was also President of the NUM from 1978 to 1982. Although the NUM was deemed bankrupt by Thatcher's government, it continued to fund Mr Scargill’s activities through an illegal “slush fund”. On 20 March 1984, Mr Scargill was arrested at his home in Sheffield for conspiring to storm the NUM headquarters in London, which led to his conviction for attempting to obstruct justice
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He spent four weeks in prison and lost his seat on the NUM national executive. He later stood as a candidate in the 1987 general election, but was defeated by Tony Benn. Despite this defeat, he continued to serve as Honorary President of the NUM until his death on November 13th 1996.