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The Tories' refusal to hand 164,000 people higher disability benefits was today ruled "blatantly discriminatory" by the High Court.

Campaigners hailed a massive victory as a top judge said the change to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) was unlawful.

The Mirror revealed in February how ministers rewrote the law to avoid following a tribunal which said people should receive more benefits.

It said those who suffer "overwhelming psychological distress" when travelling alone should qualify more easily for PIP.

The government said the change would have cost £3.7billion extra by 2022 - but a woman with mental health difficulties challenged ministers to the High Court.

Mr Justice Mostyn today agreed with the woman that the regulations discriminated against people like her - potentially forcing ministers to boost 164,000 people's benefits.

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The judge said: "The 2017 regulations introduced criteria... which were blatantly discriminatory against those with mental health impairments and which cannot be objectively justified."

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will appeal the case.

Scope chief executive Mark Atkinson said the judgement was "immensely significant for the thousands of disabled people" affected.

He said: “Thousands of disabled people rely on PIP to live independently and help meet the often substantial extra costs they face related to their condition or impairment.

“The Government must listen carefully to today’s ruling and act quickly to reverse these changes, rather than further dragging the issue through the courts."

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said: “This ruling is a significant victory for people with mental health problems.

"If the ruling is allowed to stand then more than 160,000 people with mental health problems will be able to access the support they should have been entitled to all along."

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Georgina Carr of the MS Society added: "The new rules completely ignore how people with unpredictable conditions like MS often face mental health problems alongside, or even as a result of, their physical symptoms.

"As the judgement suggests, not everyone fits neatly into categories, and people shouldn’t be denied support because of this.

"We’re urging the Government to scrap these rules so that people don’t have to rely on courts to get the support they need."

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams said the ruling was a "damning indictment on this Government’s discriminatory approach to PIP."

She added: "Labour is committed to overturn the emergency regulations and make PIP available to people with mental health conditions."

Dr Jed Boardman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which gave evidence in the case, said: “We can’t accept a benefits system that treats people with mental health difficulties worse than those with physical health difficulties.

“The medical evidence I gave to the court was clear, mental health conditions such as agoraphobia significantly impact on sufferers’ ability to plan or follow the route of a journey."

The woman, advised by the Public Law Project and backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has remained anonymous and was known only as RF.

If ministers had not stopped it, the original tribunal would have handed new money to 143,000 people who previously received nothing for the "mobility" element of PIP.

Half of them would have received the enhanced rate of £57.45 a week, and the other half the standard rate of £21.80 a week, the DWP said.

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Another 21,000 people would have moved from the standard to the enhanced rate, giving them an extra £35.65 a week.

There is also a "daily living" element of PIP which was not affected.

A second tribunal, which was not affected by today's case, recommended more points in the "daily living" element for people who need help to take medication and monitor a health condition.

This would have affected just over 1,000 people, a DWP impact assessment said.

The DWP said together, making these changes would have cost taxpayers £560m in 2017/18, £650m in 2018/19, £760m in 2019/20, £830m in 2020/21, and £910m in 2021/22.

A DWP spokeswoman said: "PIP replaced a system that was less generous for people with mental health conditions and is designed to consider the broader picture of how someone’s life is affected by their disability or health condition.

"We are disappointed the judgment fails to recognise that PIP provides more support to people with mental health conditions than ever before."