The First-Tier Tribunal Tax Chamber yesterday ruled that Ms Adams was correctly classed as a self-employed worker rather than as a BBC employee.

HMRC was pursuing Ms Adams for £124,000 in relation to her work for the BBC from 2013-14 and 2016-17.

In a statement, Ms Adams said: “I am delighted that the First Tier Tribunal has confirmed my self-employed status for the third time, but there is no jubilation for me in this result. Over the nine years of this investigation, the mental stress has been close to unbearable at times, and the legal costs I have incurred far outweigh the tax at stake.

“I accept that HMRC has a duty to ensure that everyone pays the correct tax, and I wholeheartedly support it in that endeavour. To that end, I have fully cooperated with this inquiry for nearly a decade. However, this is the third court which has concluded that I am a self-employed individual, and HMRC has not once proven otherwise.

“I was 51 when this all began, and now, at the age of 60, I would really like to be released from my financial limbo and be able to plan for my future. Having scored a hat-trick of wins, I would politely request that HMRC accepts the emphatic judgment of our courts and desists from appealing yet again.

“There are hundreds of thousands of self-employed freelancers like me in the country. If IR35 is deemed too problematic to apply, it is surely time for HMRC to work with our legislators to address the flaws rather than picking off decent, hard-working, law-abiding people one by one in the hope that others will buckle under the pressure.”

A spokesperson for HMRC said: “We are disappointed in the tribunal’s decision and will consider the judgment before deciding next steps.”