The Tories’ hated bedroom tax has been dealt a landmark defeat in the European Court of Human Rights.
Judges ruled the benefit cut discriminated against a domestic violence victim who was forced to pay extra for her panic room.
The Scottish Government provides funding to make sure no one in Scotland has to pay the tax, with more than 70,000 families receiving help to mitigate the impact of the vile Tory policy.
The UK Government has been ordered to pay the woman, who suffered rape and assault, £8600 for the “damage she suffered”.
Lawyers have now demanded the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) acts to help almost 300 women estimated to be in a similar situation.
The ruling – by a 5-2 majority of judges – comes almost three years after the mum, known only as A, suffered a defeat in the UK Supreme Court.
Ann Bevington of Hopkin Murray Beskine solicitors, who acted for A, said: “These changes to housing benefit have had a catastrophic impact on vulnerable people.
“Our client, whose life is at risk, has suffered great anxiety as a result of the tax and the uncertainty about this case.
“She lives in a property which has been specially adapted by the police, at great expense, to protect her and her child.
“The prospect of having to move to another property or take in a lodger has loomed large for her during the six years it has taken this case to reach this stage.
“She is a vulnerable single parent who has been a victim of rape and assault.
“She is delighted that after such a long battle, the European Court of Human Rights has recognised the impact the tax is having on her and others like her.”
SNP housing spokeswoman Alison Thewliss said: “The bedroom tax has always been one of the most wrongheaded and damaging policies of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition Government.”
