Ministers have released a raft of data and announcements just before Parliament rises for Christmas – but don’t fret, the Mirror has ensured it doesn’t get swept under the carpet
‘Twas the end of the Parliamentary term for the year – and MPs have left Westminster for the Christmas recess. But as always, the Government has slipped out a raft of data and announcements just before Parliament rose for a two-week break.
It’s a common practice for ministers to dump all its bad news on the final day of term – and this year was no different. From speed camera fines to damaging court statistics, there’s been a whole host of documents to pore over. And in more bad news, Keir Starmer’s team in No10 have sparked a huge row with political reporters, with an email sneaked out last night announcing that afternoon press briefings will be cancelled for the new year.
The Mirror has trawled through all the bad news slipped out to make it doesn’t get swept under the carpet.
1. Cancelling Downing Street briefings
Downing Street has scrapped its daily afternoon press briefing, in a move journalists warned could damage scrutiny of the Government. Number 10 normally holds two briefings for political journalists on most days that Parliament is sitting. The briefings allow the “lobby”, the group of political journalists that cover Westminster, an opportunity to question the PM’s official spokesman.
Number 10 said it would instead offer “occasional” press conferences with ministers or technical briefings to allow greater access for “content creators” and journalists outside the lobby. Tim Allan, Downing Street’s executive director of communications, said the media landscape had been “utterly transformed” in recent years, leaving the current arrangements “not fit for purpose”.
But David Hughes and the Mirror’s Political Editor Lizzy Buchan, the outgoing and incoming chairs of the lobby, said: “We are greatly concerned by this step and furious that the lobby was not consulted about this move which restricts access and, we fear, scrutiny. Downing Street has promised more ministerial press conferences but they will obviously control the timetable for those and will no doubt seek to choose who they take questions from. None of this bodes well for transparency from a government which came into office promising to raise standards.”
2. Speed cameras wrong for four years
Thousands of drivers could have been wrongly given speeding fines after a fault saw some cameras falsely triggered on English motorways and A roads.
National Highways revealed it had found 2,650 wrongful speed camera activations since 2021 due to a delay between cameras and variable speed signs.
Transport minister Simon Lightwood said the government will compensate any affected drivers, refunding speeding fines and rescinding points from licences.
It has seen tens of thousands of people’s speed awareness courses cancelled, and thousands of historic fixed penalty notices and criminal justice prosecutions dropped.
3. Another record high for courts delays
Official data released on the final day of Parliament showed the courts backlog has reached ANOTHER record high.
Ministry of Justice stats showed the open caseload for the crown courts was 79,619 at the end of September, up 9% from the same point a year earlier. The number of cases open for a year or more passed 20,000 for the first time at 20,155 at the end of September, which is up 25% year on year.
Justice Secretary David Lammy earlier this month announced plans for criminals facing sentences of less than three years to lose access to jury trials – but anger is growing among Labour MPs over the plans. Almost 40 of his MPs have branded the proposals “madness” and called on the Government to change course.
4. Cost of Covid Inquiry
The Government spent more than £20million on the Covid Inquiry in the first half of this year, figures slipped out on Thursday showed.
In a written statement Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds revealed that in the first two quarters of 2025, £9.3million was spent on 207 full-time equivalent staff.
And legal costs – met by the Government Legal Department – totalled £11.3million. It comes after BBC analysis found Government departments spent £101million had been spent from April 2023 to June 2025. This is on top of £192million spent by the inquiry itself.
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “The government is fully committed to supporting the work of the COVID-19 Inquiry and to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the UK is better prepared for a future pandemic.
The government recognises the unprecedented and wholly exceptional circumstances of the pandemic. The Inquiry is therefore unprecedented in its scope, complexity and profile.
5. Army vehicle trials paused after injury
All trials of the Army’s new Ajax armoured vehicle have been paused after another soldier suffered vibration injuries, a defence minister said.
Use of the £6.3billion vehicle for military training was halted last month after around 30 soldiers became ill due to noise and vibration while using the Ajax on a training exercise.
Other trials of the vehicle continued, including some at Bovington, in Dorset, intended to provide data for investigations into November’s incident. But those trials have now also been paused after a soldier reported suffering from vibration symptoms on December 12.
Announcing the pause in a written statement to Parliament on Thursday, defence minister Luke Pollard said the soldier was being given medical support but had not needed hospital treatment.
He added: “The pause to the trials will allow time for the individual’s symptoms to be investigated and for the vehicle to be thoroughly inspected. In the New Year, I will assess if trials can be restarted.”
6. Anger at last-minute police funding announcement
Police forces in England and Wales will receive an average of 4.2% increases, it was announced late on Thursday.
But there was a lot of variation – with Kent seeing its settlement go up by 5.1%, while South Wales and Greater Manchester were awarded the lowest increase at 3.6%.
New proposals on policing reform are set to be published at the start of 2026, Policing Minister Sarah Jones said in a statement.
It came just days after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said a written ministerial statement (WMS) was not an appropriate way to make such an important announcement. He had said: “I do take this matter seriously, and the House should hear that.
“A WMS is not the answer on matters so serious, and those on the Treasury Bench should have heard that point. We should not shy away from this House; in fact, we should always come to the House first—I cannot say it more than I do.”
7. Delays to May elections
Millions could see local elections in their area in May delayed again under a shake-up of local government.
Ministers announced on Thursday some 63 council areas could opt to postpone elections until 2027 – after some were already delayed for a year. It comes as the government reorganises some town halls by scrapping some two-tiered councils to cover larger areas in a drive to improve services.
Local government minister Alison McGovern told the Commons she had heard from some areas they do not have the capacity required for the reorganisation during the current time frame.
She told MPs: “We have listened to councils who’ve told us of the challenges they face reorganising while preparing for resource-intensive elections for areas which may shortly be abolished. Several have submitted requests to postpone elections so it is therefore right we let them have their say so they can focus their time and energy on providing vital services while planning for reorganisation.”
8. Gender clinics ‘exceptionally long waits’
A review into adult gender clinics in England painted a dire picture for the quality of services. In his 60-page report, Dr David Levy found most of the nine clinics visited had “exceptionally long waiting times” running into waits of “many years” for patients to be assessed.
He said the true size of waiting lists is unclear because the clinics all have separate ones, but his report included a projected wait time of “15 years or more” for the majority of clinics “if no improvements were made”.
The review also stated that it is currently “impossible to properly understand patient outcomes and the safety” of adult gender clinics due to the “absence of any patient outcomes data”.
Dr Levy has called for a single waiting list and a clear plan for improvement over the next five years amid the current “unacceptable” delays for patients.
9. Pressure over farming
As they head off for Christmas, ministers have once again found themselves under pressure over farming.
The long-awaited review into farm profitability has renewed calls for a rethink on inheritance tax and clarity on nature-friendly farming schemes. The report by former National Farmers’ Union president Baroness Minette Batters has called for a “new deal for profitable farming” that recognises the true cost of producing food and delivering for the environment.
Rachel Reeves faced fury after her 2024 Budget announcement that farms worth more than £1million will pay 20% inheritance tax from 2026.
Baroness Batters said the change to inheritance tax on farm businesses was the single biggest issue raised by respondents in relation to farming viability, although it lay outside the terms of reference for the review.
Uncertainty over the sustainable farming incentive scheme – which forms the main part of the post-Brexit environmental land management scheme (Elms) for agricultural payments – was also an ongoing concern.
The review calls for a new deal for farming between Government and industry, with a long-term plan that increases demand for British produce, boosts farming incomes, productivity and resilience, makes supply chains fair, and values nature, wildlife and water quality.
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