A confidential copy of the provisional findings of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report revealing what compensation the 3.5 million remaining 50swomen will get for their delayed pensions will be sent out to selected parties at the end of next week.

This long, long awaited move was announced by Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the Ombudsman’s Office, to Mps on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee yesterday.

Ms Hilsenrath told MPs that this long drawn out investigation had been ” challenging” and the Ombudsman had needed expert legal advice on how to proceed with the report. She said the investigation which began in 2018 had twice been paused because of litigation. These included the judicial reviews brought by ” Backto60″ – now CEDAWinLAW and Waspi . Backto60 had fought the DWP over indirect discrimination in the process and Waspi had wanted the finding of maladministration widened to cover other circumstances which had affected women’s claims.

It was also revealed that the Department for Work and Pensions had contributed to the delay by asking for more time to consider the issues.

Altogether it will have taken seven years before the public release of the report expected in the New Year of the Ombudsman’s findings during which over 250,000 women have died.

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, said these delays and extensions had mean it would mean ” justice delayed becoming justice denied” and pressed the Ombudsman not to grant any more extensions to the DWP or other parties.

The schedule announced by Ms Hilsenrath will give the six ” test case” complainants until Christmas to respond. The provisional findings are also being sent to the DWP and Waspi but not to CEDAWinLaw.

” We will then take into account their views before issuing a final report in the New Year.”, she said.

The announcement yesterday came as the £15,000 crowd funder launched by CEDAWinLAW has already raised over 70 per cent of the cash so lawyers could draw up a strategy to bring a group class action against Mel Stride, the works and pensions secretary, for direct discrimination in the way they handled the raising of the women’s state pension from 60 to 65.

The lawyers handling the case are human rights lawyer John Cooper, KC and David Greene.

John Cooper said: “This is an important challenge for so many women in this country. The weight of the evidence indicates a grave injustice to them and we will robustly represent their interests as we move forward with the assistance of a first class legal team”

David Greene is regarded as an expert in bringing Class Actions for groups and cited as one of the best litigators in the City. He is a past President of the Law Society which represents solicitors.

Initially the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Office said the “as far as we are aware no legal proceedings have been issued so no implications for our investigation.”

Yesterday Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, changed his position warning that further litigation would delay proceedings for the publication of the report.

Jovelynne Scutt, the former Australian anti discrimination commissioner, who has compiled a report saying the DWP is in breach of international law, says the legal case should have no bearing on the Ombudsman’s report which is mainly about maladministration.

Yesterday Ms Hilsenrath also admitted that the office’s handling of the complaint would be reviewed by the Parliamentary Ombudsman to see what “lessons can be learned” over the long process it has taken. By then Rob Behrens, the current Ombudsman, will have retired and a new one would be in place.