In an email leaked to ITV News and sent to all claimants by their legal team at Leigh Day, the message suggests an “independent expert” has compared the roles of predominantly women working on the shopfloor with a majority of men who work in distribution centres.

The expert scored the jobs across 11 factors including “knowledge and responsibility”, with the email claiming that shopfloor roles scored 453 points and distribution centre roles scored 447, despite distribution centre roles being paid between £1.50 and £3 more an hour.