Waspi women: We are not giving up the fight

Women campaigning about the impact of changes to the state pension age have vowed to carry on after the Government rejected compensation for them.

“We are certainly not giving up the fight,” said Debbie de Spohn, membership director of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASP) campaign.

Meanwhile, politicians have called on the government to back down from the decision, with Labor MP Brian Leishman saying he was “appalled”.

But the government has said there is no evidence of “direct financial loss” and there was “considerable awareness” of the pension age change.

Campaigners say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed about a rise in the state pension age to bring them on par with men.

Ms de Spon told the BBC Radio Four Today program that the government’s decision was “very disappointing” and that many members of the Labor Cabinet had been “very supportive of Waspi” for years.

“We think it’s time to ask for some support,” he said.

Nine months earlier, a parliamentary ombudsman had recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 for each person affected after a six-year investigation.

Ms De Spaon said: “It would be a mockery of the system if (the government) can decide what parts of the investigation they want to accept.”

The Liberal Democrats had previously said this stance “sets a deeply worrying precedent” in rejecting the ombudsman’s findings.

However, the government has said compensation could cost as much as £10.5 billion.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would “put a further burden on the taxpayer”.