HELEN Liddell MP, minister of state for energy, met Forest freeminers on Wednesday to discuss their complaints against the Coal Authority.
After visiting the Hayners Bailey mine at Cannop, she held a meeting with the Royal Forest of Dean Freeminers' Association at the Speech House.
Ray Wright, the Association's secretary, said before the meeting: "She will have been briefed by her officials, but she will have been briefed wrongly, in our opinion.
"The Government's view at present is that the Coal Authority has the power to charge freeminers an annual licence fee. We dispute this, since the 1994 Coal Act gave no power to the Authority to override the freeminers' ancient rights.
"We will be making this and other points to her. We will also be asking her eight questions to try and establish if she and her DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) boss, Stephen Byers MP, are really prepared to listen – or whether her visit is just a PR exercise."
The Speech House meeting was attended by Association officers and Forest MP Diana Organ.