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It's that time of year.

Our bin bags are full of leftover turkey, half-eaten mince pies and empty bottles of booze and regret.

But it's not only Christmas food that's stuffing our trash. At this time of year, it's also traditional for the government to line up a few smelly morsels to take to the kerb.

Burying bad news in the final hours of Parliament sitting has many names, but we tend to follow the example of The West Wing - where it was called 'Take out the Trash Day'.

And Friday was an especially good opportunity for anyone who wanted to slip out some bad news.

Not only were MPs and journalists exhausted from the election, it was also just before Christmas, and the day was occupied with a vote on Brexit.

So as a public service, we've gone through some of the biggest announcements that were made by the government in the final hours before MPs went home for Christmas (and in one case slightly afterwards).

The government usually argues, of course, that it is not deliberately burying bad news.

And to a certain extent, it has a point. After all, isn't it better to rush public documents out on the last day possible rather than wait until the new year?

The problem is, short of becoming mind-readers, it's often very difficult for us to know for sure one way or the other. Take a look at the 6 examples below and see what you think.

1. A neck-grabbing top Tory breached the ministerial code

(Image: ITV)

On Friday, Tory ministers made an innocent-sounding statement called 'Government Transparency and Accountability'. One bullet point in that statement listed an innocent-sounding "Annual Report of the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Interests". And on the final page of that report was a brief 160-word paragraph about a man called Mark Field.

In fact, this was the finale of a long-awaited ethics probe into the ex-minister - embroiled in a storm when he manhandled a climate change protester at a black-tie dinner.

Mark Field, who stood down from Parliament after being suspended as a Foreign Office minister, grabbed Greenpeace activist Janet Barker by the neck and forced her from the event in shocking footage that was caught on TV.

Sir Alex Allan, the independent advisor on ministerial standards, found he was "justified in intervening" to stop Ms Barker reaching the top table and "I accept that he had to take a split-second decision".

But Sir Alex added there was no reason to grab her by the neck, adding: "The actions Mr Field took, and the force he used, were not consistent with the high standards of behaviour expected of Ministers and with treating Ms Barker with consideration and respect."

Mr Field breached the ministerial code, the report concluded - but he will receive no punishment over the ruling because he is no longer a minister.

2. A £4bn defence sell-off to the US was announced at 10pm on Friday

(Image: Getty Images)

Boris Johnson was accused of dodging scrutiny by backing the £4billion US takeover of defence firm Cobham - which was announced at 10pm on Friday night.

Advent International made a bid to buy Dorset-based manufacturer Cobham in July. But it was delayed when the Government stepped in due to national security concerns.

Lady Nadine Cobham, whose family founded the air-to-air refuelling firm, said: “This is a deeply disappointing announcement and one cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before Christmas.

"In one of its first major economic decisions, the Government is not taking back control so much as handing it away."

Lib Dem acting leader Sir Ed Davey said: "It is deeply concerning that the Conservative government is allowing this sale to go ahead, despite previously cited concerns that it could undermine our national security."

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said she was satisfied security risks had been reduced “to an acceptable level”. Boris Johnson also defended the process, saying: "I think it's very important that we should have an open and dynamic market economy.

"A lot of checks have been gone through to make sure that in that particular case all the security issues that might be raised can be satisfied and the UK will continue to be a very, very creative and dynamic contributor to that section of industry and all others."

3. The Tories U-turned over a 'distressing' tax avoidance clampdown linked to seven suicides

(Image: Getty)

The Tory government has been forced to U-turn over a notorious tax avoidance clampdown which was linked to seven suicides.

Ministers acted on Friday at the same time as they published a damning report by Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, into the scandal-hit Loan Charge.

The Charge - launched in the 2016 Budget - was designed to tackle "disguised remuneration avoidance " where a person’s income is paid as a loan which is never repaid.

Under such schemes freelancers and self-employed contractors were paid via a third party with loans, replacing part or all of their salary.

But Sir Amyas' report said the "highly unusual" scheme "caused serious distress to the individuals affected" after some were hit with "life-changing" tax bills dating back as far as 1999.

He backed the overall aim of the scheme - but noted seven people affected took their own lives. Sir Amyas did not himself conclude whether stress over the Loan Charge was directly responsible for any deaths.

Ministers announced on Friday they had accepted Sir Amyas' recommendations - which are expected to reduce the tax bill of 30,000 of the 50,000 people affected.

No one who took out a loan before 9 December 2010 will now be hit, and those who took out loans before 5 April 2016 will be able to get out of payment if they can prove it was HMRC that failed to act.

Taxpayers will also be given three years not one year to spread out their repayments.

4. Ministers said they must fix an 'anomaly' that turned Harry Dunn's case into a Transatlantic row

(Image: Facebook)

Harry Dunn's death shot back into headlines on Friday as a US spy's wife was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Anne Sacoolas returned to the US claiming diplomatic immunity after the car she was driving allegedly collided with the 19-year-old's motorbike outside RAF Croughton.

Diplomatic immunity for those at the Northamptonshire base was previously described as "not right" by Mr Raab - and on Friday, he disclosed a review into the system was now complete.

He announced in a written statement: "The Croughton Review has now concluded.

"It considered the anomaly that family members of US officers serving at the Annex at RAF Croughton have, under current arrangements between the UK and the US, greater protection from UK criminal jurisdiction than the officers themselves.

"On the basis of the Review, I have instructed my officials to begin discussions with the US on the most effective way to address this anomaly."

5. Tory ministers confirmed council tax rises of up to 4%

Families across the UK will face council tax rises of up to 4% from April, Tory ministers confirmed.

Councils will get a boost in their 'core spending power' from £46.2bn in 2019-20 to £49.1bn in 2020-21, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said.

But part of this will come from yet another year of above-average council tax increases, passing the burden on to hard-pressed local taxpayers, rather than government funds.

In a similar system to previous years, councils will be able to raise their 'precept' by 2% for general funds plus 2% for social care as the Tories still haven't found a permanent solution to the funding crisis.

The government insisted the 4% rises would be the lowest since 2016/17.

6. Taxpayer-funded Special Advisers have hit a record high

(Image: Leon Neal)

In their 2010 manifesto, the Tories promised to limit Special Advisers in the civil service.

Yet the number of 'Spads' - political appointees who are funded by the taxpayer - has now broken through the 100 barrier to hit a record high.

There are now 108 'Spads' across government - up from 99 in 2018, 88 in 2017 and 89 in 2016, a total that dwarfs even the worst excesses of Tony Blair's era.

And they cost a total of £9.6m, a leap on the £8.9m pay and pension bill a year earlier, a report slipped out on Friday disclosed.

Among them is the Prime Minister's top aide Dominic Cummings, who is on just under £100,000 a year and backs more political appointees in the civil service.

His generous salary is dwarfed though by other top aides in No10, including communications chief Lee Cain, strategy chief Sir Ed Lister and policy chief Munira Mirza, all of whom earn more than £140,000 - nearly as much as the PM himself.