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In each of the first three months of 2012, HM Treasury announced a specific new measure to tackle tax avoidance. The moves are all incorporated in the 2012 Finance Bill, published after the Budget at the end of March. In the bill, tackling over £1bn of tax avoidance and evasion is one of the five major areas of legislation.

It seems impossible to open a newspaper at the moment without reading yet another headline attacking pensions. ‘Interest rates keep annuities low.’ ‘Pension companies still overcharging.’ ‘Stock market falls wipe billions off pensions.’

No-one who is going through a divorce finds the process easy: it’s long, messy and almost always painful. Even if there are no children involved, divorce is a procedure that takes its toll on both sides: the acrimony, the paperwork – and the inevitable meetings with your solicitor.

Wednesday April 25th must have been the morning David Cameron felt like phoning in sick. The Office of National Statistics officially confirmed that a shock 0.2% contraction in growth had pushed the UK into its first double dip recession since the 1970s. Meanwhile the Leveson Inquiry rumbled on with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt facing calls to resign; Labour opened an eight point lead in the opinion polls and there were predictions that the increase in diabetes could bankrupt the NHS. All in all a good day for a sick note…