Government accused of 'democratic abomination' for hiding bad news on last day of Parliament

The Government has been criticised for using “shady” tactics to avoid scrutiny by dumping important announcements and documents onto official websites the last day before MPs leave for their summer recesses.

Opposition parties described the strategy as a “democratic abomination” and said that the Conservatives had in 2017 “taken it to another level” after the Government tried to bury stories ranging from it wasting money on legal fees to there being a shortage of soldiers.

Written statements trawled through on Thursday revealed that the number of police officers had reached a 30-year low, that a major rail electrification programme had been scrapped, and that the number of former ministers working in the private sector had surged by 60 per cent.

Other documents showed the Government had wasted £1.1 million in defending the Article 50 Court case – which it lost, and that there was a “concerning” shortage of students studying advanced mathematics.

A key foreign office human rights report that slated the record of one of Britain’s closest allies, Saudi Arabia, was also snuck out by the Foreign Office.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said MPs would not get a chance to scrutinise the process.

“Take out the trash day is a regular shame on our political system, but this year the Tories have taken it to another level,” he said.

“MPs will not have the chance to scrutinise the announcements sneaked out yesterday, including to reduce police numbers, ditch electrification of train lines and a damning human rights assessment of Saudi Arabia - a country that this Government is climbing into bed with.

“These are the actions of a shady Government which holds Parliament and the people of this country in contempt. The fact that so much has been released in one go highlights the extent to which this is a Government running scared and unwilling to face scrutiny.”

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Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron described the media management strategy as a “national scandal”.

“It’s is a democratic abomination that the government tries to sneak out a whole load of serious things on the last day of parliament knowing that no one will have time to scrutinise them seriously – on everything from Saudi Arabian arms sales to how many children are being expelled from our schools,” he said.

“It’s a national scandal that the Government do this and it needs to stop."

Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said: "The government has attempted to hide bad news as the summer break begins by slipping reports and announcements out under the radar. It is an appalling practice that stops us from holding the Government to account.

“Everyone knows the Tories’ days are numbered, but I’m astounded at the extent to which they have run scared from defending their record.

“This is weak act from a weak Prime Minister, desperate to avoid scrutiny of her failure.”

MPs broke for recess on Thursday and will not return until 5 September; Parliament will then sit for a week before another month-long recess in which party conferences are held.