The Court of Appeal found against the Government in December last year in relation to changes made to the pension schemes for judges and firefighters. The decision was that transitional provisions sheltering older individuals discriminated against younger workers and could not be justified.

Unhappy with this decision, in January the Government had submitted its request for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, but it was rejected today.

Because permission to appeal was rejected, this means that the case will now be remitted back to the Employment Tribunal for a final decision on remedy.

The financial impact of this decision could be huge for Government. In January, Liz Truss MP, chief executive to the Treasury, said: "The provisional estimate is that the potential impact of the judgment could cost […] around £4bn per annum."