The UK Government has been accused by an SNP MP of "absolute hypocrisy" over its decision to extend the pension age of some women.

Mhairi Black, who represents Paisley and Renfrewshire South, criticised the government's stance in a debate at Westminster on Tuesday.

In 1995 the then-Conservative government decided to equalise the retirement age of both men and women by 2020.

The UK Government opted to speed up the process in 2011 so it instead began in 2018.

Men and women will both retire at 66 after the changes. This will then rise to 67 by 2036, and to 68 by 2046.

Some women feel they were not given enough notice of the change in their retirement age.

Black said: "This is about the fifth or sixth time we have debated this and the government's response - the government's stance - on every single debate has just been littered with absolute hypocrisy.

"We hear this government continually try to lecture the opposition about how they are the government of responsibility.

"They are the ones making difficult choices, they are the ones that can be trusted, and yet they do not even allow people the chance to be responsible themselves in terms of their pension.

She continued: "Women were not given notice in the slightest. Some women with the steepest hikes were given a year's notice, how is that encouraging responsibility whatsoever?

"If anything, the government has shown just how irresponsible it is in terms of working out solutions to problems within society.

"We say to people, and we have said for years now, you have to pay in 35 years' worth of national insurance contributions to get your pensions yet we have a generation of women who have been paying in 45, 46 years now yet they are being told 'sorry you still can't get your pension'."

Black added: "We say that we care about our pensioners more than anybody else. We pride ourselves on how we look after our pensioners yet as already stated the only other European country which has seen a hike at such a fast, incredible pace is Greece.

"A country which not only a few weeks ago was teargassing pensioners because they were protesting against austerity. Is that really were we want to put ourselves in terms of how we deal with constituents?"

Pensions minister Richard Harrington defended the UK Government's position in a heated debate at Westminster Hall.

SNP MP Ian Blackford heckled Harrington as he read out criticism of the SNP's counter-proposals.

Blackford shouted, "That's not true. That's a lie".

Harrington said: "I have been quite clear, both in public and inside of this House, the government will make no further changes to the pension age of those affected by the 1995 and 2011 acts or pay them financial redress in lieu of pension.

"This view has not changed and I believe it is important to acknowledge that state pension age increases cannot be looked at in isolation.

"The acceleration of the state pension age is a consequence of serious and fundamental changes that continue to affect the wider state pension system such as the significant change in life expectancy in recent years, the huge progress made in opening up employment opportunities for women and the wider packages of reforms we have introduced to ensure a fair deal for pensioners."