Decision to review communication over pensions age increases is welcomed by Women Against State Pension Inequality

The watchdog agreed out of court that its report had made ‘legally flawed’ calculations about the impact of the decision to equalise the state pension age for men and women and that it must be reconsidered.

Shelagh Simmons, coordinator for Solent Waspi, said the decision was an ‘extraordinary result’ for affected women.

‘The PHSO has never before responded like this to a judicial review,’ she said. ‘It’s testament to the strength of our arguments.

‘We have always believed in the justice of our case and have always been determined to pursue it. Nothing has shaken our resolve.

‘Now this victory is the foundation stone to getting a better report from the ombudsman and, in turn, to the fast, fair compensation we have been campaigning for all these years.’

Waspi is fighting for compensation for millions of women affected by the change and had launched a judicial review over the ombudsman’s decision to make assessments based on the premise that women could have been informed 28 months earlier than they were.

Lawyers for the group described this approach as ‘irrational’ because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had delayed a direct mail campaign three times.

Caroline Robinson of Bindmans LLP, who represented the group, said she hoped the decision to reconsider the report would ‘lead to a fairer outcome’.

‘A huge group of women who had been let down badly by the DWP placed their trust in the ombudsman to get to the bottom of why that happened, why it was unjust and to recommend a fair remedy,’ she said. ‘Regrettably, the ombudsman also let them down with his deeply flawed report.

‘Our clients are pleased that theombudsman had the humility to recognise his errors when challenged and agreed to withdraw the report and reconsider his approach.’

An order submitted to the High Court on Monday will see parts of the report quashed and reconsidered. A draft version of the ‘stage 3’ report, which considers potential financial compensation, will also be rewritten.