While hundreds of thousands of people around the UK were toasting the New Year with a glass of champagne, watching fireworks or having a house party, thousands were taking a rather different approach – by filling in their tax return.

Nearly 75,000 fake emails were reported to the taxman over the last six months - a 70% per cent increase.

A jailed ex-president of the Association of Taxation Technicians who was imprisoned for a major pension scheme tax fraud has been told to pay back £5.1 million – or face another decade behind bars.