Royal Mail has won a High Court injunction to block potential strikes by postal workers.
The judge indicated he would grant the injunction at the outset of his ruling on Wednesday afternoon.
The company brought the action against the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in an attempt to block the threatened action. Members had voted to back walkouts by 97 per cent on a turnout of 76 per cent.
The postal service claimed that the proposed strikes could affect mail over the Christmas period as well as in the run up to the general election.
The union, which has not set a date for strikes, denied the allegations and contested the case.
At the outset of a ruling in London on Wednesday, Mr Justice Swift said he had decided that there should be an order for an injunction.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Royal Mail claimed the union orchestrated a "de facto workplace ballot", contrary to rules on industrial action, to maximise the turnout and the "yes" vote.
CWU lawyers argued there was no evidence of interference with the ballot and that "legitimate partisan campaigning" by the union in favour of a "yes" vote did not violate the rules.
The CWU balloted members over strike action amid a dispute between workers and management over job security and employment terms.
The union previously said the result of the ballot, which was open between September 24 and October 15, represented the largest "yes vote" for national industrial action since the passing of the Trade Union Act 2016.
The CWU sent out a brief tweet immediately after the ruling, which said: “Genuinely this is an utter outrage. 110,000 workers vs the establishment.”
