News

WASPI unaffected by appeal’s failure

Published

5 years ago

September 18, 2020

A CAMPAIGN group for women born in the 1950s, whose state pension age has increased from 60-65, lost an appeal against a decision to deny them compensation for lost pension income.
Backto60 brought two test cases to the High Court last year when those cases were lost the group appealed. The Court of Appeal released its judgement rejecting the appeal on Monday, September 14.
The group’s campaign calls for a reinstatement of the age of 60 for women’s state pensions and compensation of the pension women have missed out on.
The Court found making the state pension age the same for men and women did not constitute unlawful discrimination.

WASPI CAMPAIGN UNCHANGED

The case’s failure will not affect the far better known and more widely-supported Women Against State Pensions Injustice (WASPI) campaign.
WASPI has long campaigned on the issues regarding the increase in the state pension age for women. They argue that setting aside any claim of discrimination, the UK Government failed in its duty to inform affected women adequately of the changes to the state pension age and the effect those changes would have on their pensions.
A statement issued by WASPI after the Backto60 legal challenge failed said: “Many women will be disappointed today at the judgement from the High Court.
“Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) will continue to campaign for what we believe is achievable and affordable. Compensation for women who have been unfairly disadvantaged with a rapid increase to their State Pension age (SPa).
“WASPI is not opposed to the equalisation of the SPa with men but it was done without adequate notice, leaving no time to make alternative arrangements. Women were informed directly some 14 years after the SPa was first changed, many only given 18 months’ notice, of up to a six-year increase, many others were not informed at all. This left their retirement plans shattered.
“The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is currently considering six sample cases of maladministration out of the thousands of complaints made to the DWP by WASPI women.”
Former Conservative Pensions Minister, Baroness Roz Altmann, said: “When Pensions Minister, I saw copies of letters written by the Government to millions of these women in 2003 and 2004 about their State Pension, which failed to highlight that their pension would not be paid at age 60. These official letters failed to highlight that these women’s pension would not start being paid at age 60. It merely informed them what State Pension they might receive when they reached State Pension Age, but they did not tell them what that age would be!
“Receiving a letter from the Pensions Department about their State Pension, which did not urge them to check what their State Pension Age would be, may have lulled them into a false sense of security that they would receive it from age 60.
“This looks like maladministration.”
During the election campaign last year, Boris Johnson pledged to place ‘fresh eyes’ on the issue and said he felt sympathetic to the WASPI campaigners. Asked on Tuesday about the progress of those promised considerations, he failed to answer.

THE APPEAL ISSUE

The main issue in the appeal was whether the changes to the state pension age brought in by Parliament from 1995 onwards, unlawfully discriminated against women. Backto60 argued, amongst other things, women born in the 1950s were less likely to have contributed to the state pension scheme or were disproportionately in lower-paid jobs than men.
The Pensions Act 1995 provided that a woman born before 6 April 1950 would still receive her state pension at age 60 but a woman born after that date would receive her pension on a specified date when she was aged between 60 and 65, depending on her date of birth. The Pensions Acts 2007, 2011 and 2014 then accelerated the move to age 65 as the state pension age for women and raised the state pension age for some men and women to 66, 67 or 68 depending on their date of birth.
Successive UK Governments made changes to address the massively-rising cost of state pensions.
When the state pension age was originally set, both pension ages were fixed at 65. When revised in 1940, women’s pension age was dropped to 60. At the time those ages were fixed, life expectancy meant the state pension was likely to be paid out for only a few years after retirement age. The lower age was fixed at 60 for women to reflect their then-dependence on a single male breadwinner in the family and the prevailing age difference between married couples.
In the post-war period, life expectancy increased, first gradually and then with increasing speed.
The boom in average life expectancy means the state pension is the largest single drain on the welfare budget – taking £111bn of it in the year 2018-19 (DWP figures). In comparison, payments for unemployment benefits totalled £2bn.
The UK Defence budget is around £28bn
In normal circumstances, the claims brought to the Court would have been barred due to the delay in bringing them. Time was extended to bring the claims. The question of the delay was, however, relevant only to the discretion whether to grant relief if unlawful discrimination was proved.
The long delay in bringing the claims made it impossible to fashion any practical remedy. The Court noted unchallenged expert evidence that the cost of reinstating pensions would exceed £200bn – more than seven times the total defence budget and around the same as the whole of the health and education budgets combined (Figures Office of Budget Responsibility).

Charity

Vincent Davies raises £13,682 for air ambulance charity

Published

1 hour ago

February 2, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Independent Haverfordwest store backs lifesaving crews with year of community fundraising

A WEST WALES department store has raised more than thirteen thousand pounds for a lifesaving emergency service after a packed year of community fundraising.

Staff at Vincent Davies Department Store collected £13,682 for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity, after voting the organisation their Charity of the Year for 2025.

The independent retailer organised events throughout the year, including an Easter bingo, bake sales, quizzes, raffles, staff sales, Christmas jumper days and a festive wreath-making workshop. Charity jam jars placed in Café Vincent also helped gather steady donations from customers.

One of the most popular attractions was the store’s charity singing penguin trio, which drew smiles from shoppers of all ages and boosted collections.

Sarah John, Joint Managing Director at Vincent Davies, said: “Raising £13,682 for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity is something we are extremely proud of at Vincent Davies Department Store. As a director, it’s wonderful to see our community come together to support a charity that makes such a lifesaving difference.”

The air ambulance is consultant-led, delivering hospital-level treatment directly at the scene of serious incidents and, when needed, transferring patients straight to the most appropriate specialist hospital.

Working in partnership with the NHS through the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, crews can provide advanced critical care including anaesthesia, blood transfusions and even minor surgical procedures before reaching hospital.

Operating across the whole of Wales, its teams travel the length and breadth of the country by helicopter and rapid response vehicle to reach patients quickly in both rural and urban areas.

This is not the first time the Haverfordwest store has backed the cause. In 2016, staff previously raised £5,831 when the charity was also chosen as their beneficiary.

Mike May, the charity’s West Wales Regional Fundraising Manager, said: “We are so grateful to Vincent Davies Department Store for raising an incredible amount for our charity. Throughout the year they put on a variety of different events and what a successful fundraising year it was.

“The charity needs to raise £13 million every year to keep our helicopters in the air and our rapid response vehicles on the road. By raising £13,682, the staff and customers have played an important part in saving lives across Wales.”

The store says it will announce its Charity of the Year for 2026 in the coming weeks.

Crime

Police assess complaints over Mandelson–Epstein links

Published

1 hour ago

February 2, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Met says allegations will be reviewed to see if criminal threshold is met following release of US court files

SCOTLAND YARD is reviewing a series of complaints alleging possible misconduct in public office after fresh claims emerged linking former UK ambassador Peter Mandelson to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Metropolitan Police Service confirmed it has received “a number of reports” following the publication of millions of pages of material by the United States Department of Justice, and will now decide whether any alleged conduct reaches the level required for a criminal investigation.

Commander Ella Marriott said the force would assess each report individually, stressing that a review does not automatically lead to formal proceedings.

The documents, widely referred to as the “Epstein files”, appear to show Mandelson corresponding with Epstein while serving as business secretary during the government of Gordon Brown at the height of the global financial crisis.

According to reports, Epstein was allegedly given insight into internal policy discussions, including proposals around banker bonus taxes in 2009 and details of a eurozone bailout package shortly before it was announced publicly.

Payments questioned

Bank records cited in the US disclosure reportedly show payments totalling 75,000 US dollars made to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. It is also claimed Epstein paid for an osteopathy course for Mandelson’s husband.

Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing and said he has “no record or recollection” of the alleged transfers.

On Sunday he resigned his membership of the Labour Party, saying he did not want his continued association to cause further difficulty for the party.

In interviews, he dismissed suggestions that Epstein influenced his decisions as a minister and said nothing in the released files pointed to criminality or misconduct on his part.

Pressure mounts

The political fallout has intensified, with Downing Street confirming Keir Starmer has asked Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald to carry out an urgent review into Mandelson’s historic contacts with Epstein while in office.

Brown has also called for an examination of whether any confidential or market-sensitive information was improperly shared during the financial crisis.

The case is the latest in a series of controversies linked to Epstein’s long-standing relationships with powerful figures on both sides of the Atlantic.

Police emphasised that no charges have been brought and that Mandelson is not currently under criminal investigation, but said the complaints process would be handled “thoroughly and impartially”.

Community

Councillor meets chief constable to address Monkton and Pembroke concerns

Published

2 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Tom Sinclair

COUNTY COUNCILLOR Jonathan Grimes has met with the new Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police to discuss crime, antisocial behaviour and wider community issues affecting residents in Pembroke and Monkton.

Cllr Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the meeting followed his invitation for senior police leaders to visit the area and hear first-hand about local concerns.

The Chief Constable, Ifan Charles, attended alongside officers from the Pembroke Neighbourhood Policing and Protection Team, meeting the councillor in Monkton for what were described as open and constructive talks.

As part of the visit, they also spoke with Monkton Priory Community Primary School headteacher Dylan Lawrence and Danny Nash from Pembrokeshire County Council Housing Services to gather views from education and housing professionals.

Discussions covered a range of issues raised by residents, including domestic abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, antisocial behaviour and environmental concerns such as littering, dog fouling and dangerous or inconsiderate driving.

Cllr Grimes acknowledged recent police successes, particularly in tackling drug-related activity, but said enforcement alone would not solve the area’s challenges.

He said closer cooperation between the police, council services, schools and the wider community would be needed to deliver longer-term improvements.

The councillor added that he plans to encourage residents to form a local community group in the coming weeks, aimed at developing practical solutions and strengthening partnership working across the area.