National archive records exposed the depth of Tory government lies during the 1984-5 Miners' Strike with secret cabinet papers revealing yesterday a plot to slash 75,000 jobs drawn up months before the dispute.

The newly released documents record the secret Downing St meetings that laid the foundations for a ferocious attack on Britain's trade union movement.

It started with the destruction of the National Union of Mineworkers and the coal-mining industry.