A North Yorkshire campaigner for the rights of men aged over 60 has attacked the Government for increasing winter fuel payments from £20 to £100 in last week's Budget.

Retired postman John Taylor, of Norton, said the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, should have extended the existing fuel handouts to all over-60s rather than increasing the payment five-fold for those already qualified for it.

Last October Mr Taylor, who is the York and District organiser of Parity - who campaign for men and women to receive the state pension at 60 - took the Government to the High Court over the winter fuel issue.

He argued in a case backed by pressure group Liberty that the Government was in breach of a European Directive which enshrines equality of treatment.

The case has been referred to the European Court of Justice and Mr Taylor said he did not yet have a date for the hearing.

But he said the British Government had signed a treaty which said equality of treatment was one of the founding principles of the European Union, and he believed Mr Brown or other Ministers must be aware of the case.

As a result he was "five times more aggrieved" because they had chosen to increase payments rather than spreading them to all over-60s.

Mr Taylor said he was 63 and although his wife was 60 she did not qualify for a state pension in her own right, therefore they received no help with fuel bills.

"I can't believe we are the only household in the country in the same boat," he said.

"I am very disillusioned with the present Government. They came in with a manifesto saying they would eliminate inequality and injustice wherever they are found."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Social Security said she could not comment on Mr Taylor's case, but added: "This extra money is going to be providing much-needed help to about 10 million pensioners in over seven million pensioner households."

She said: "It further demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring pensioners are not frightened of turning up the heating."

But the spokeswoman said unless people were on Income Support the current qualification for winter fuel payments was based on the age for receiving state pensions, which would be equalised at 65 for men and women by the year 2020.

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