Britain is a country where it is not surprising to find that rich old men live longer than their poorer counterparts

'How Fair is Britain?', a definitive 700-page report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on discrimination and disadvantage in British society, charts inequalities from birth, through education, into the workplace and on to retirement.

The most comprehensive study ever conducted into inequality in Britain has revealed a country in which boys struggle academically, disabled children face shocking levels of bullying and progress towards pay equality for women has stalled.

It also found that men and women from the highest social class can expect to live up to seven years longer, on average, than those from lower socio-economic groups, based on life expectancy at birth.