"We are not going away".

That is the message from the women's pension campaigners in Ceredigion, who have thrown their weight behind legal action against the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman has been investigating the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) since October 2018 over the way the UK government communicated changes to the State Pension age to women born in the 1950s.

The Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) campaign group said this saw millions of women affected by "a lack of notice" of the rise from 60 to 65 (and later 66), with "serious implications for their personal finances."

A Crowdjustice appeal has been set up to fund the legal costs for Fair compensation for WASPI women - and the county's WASPI campaigners say they intend to send a clear message to the Ombudsman and the Government.

Pamela Judge, from Ceredigion WASPI, said: “We are pleased that our colleagues in the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign have started the process for a Judicial Review in the High Court.

“The Ombudsman concluded in 2021 that the DWP was guilty of maladministration in its handling of State Pension age changes, saying it should have written to the women affected by December 2006 at the latest.

"However his subsequent findings show inconsistencies and irrational assumptions which cannot remain unchallenged.”

Ceredigion WASPI member Melinda Williams added: “Over 5,000 1950s-born women throughout Ceredigion have been badly let down by DWP failures and the flaws in the Ombudsman’s report.

"Many women had their retirement plans wrecked by the lack of notice of changes to their State Pension age and have been struggling to get by ever since.

"Yet, despite this, many have still managed to dig deep and give to the campaign as well as make a donation direct from our group. 

“This is a testament to the longstanding commitment of WASPI women to get justice. It sends a message to both the Ombudsman and the Government that we are not going away.”

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake commented: “WASPI women have been waiting for years for justice and compensation from the UK Government.

"I applaud the work carried out by all the 1950s women campaign groups that have ensured that leaders, politicians and Ministers do not forget about them."

The judicial review could provide the opportunity for senior judges to force the Ombudsman to look at the case again.