Government accused of burying bad news

A case of bad news, perfectly timed. That's the widespread view of the PR industry after the government broke the news of a £32 billion tax shortfall just hours before MPs headed off for their 12-week summer holiday.

Opposition parties accused the government of burying bad news by delaying publication of a series of critical reports about the dire state of the country's finances until the day before Parliament broke up for the summer recess.

The shortfall represents the most serious tax deficit since the 1920s, triggered by a collapse in income tax receipts and a burgeoning benefits bill, brought on by spiralling unemployment.

But the statement was just one of a series of damning reports concerning the government's financial affairs published on the same day, giving rival parties little scope to exploit yet more harmful news to Labour's chances of re-election.

Tory Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond accused the government of deliberately timing the news so that it gave no time for MPs to hold ministers to account.

But from a PR perspective that is exactly the point, as any company or organisation would be well advised to time an announcement of bad news to have as little negative impact on its reputation as possible.