In a review of a Freedom of Information Act request put by Accountancy Age, the Treasury revealed a paper trail as large as the estimated costs of the actions. ‘In total over 17,000 documents were identified that potentially fell within the scope of your request,’ the reply says.

The eight month review concluded that the Treasury was right not to answer the question on cost grounds, adding that its additional consideration of general exemptions on the information, ‘represented the Treasury’s wish to be helpful’.

Experts suggest the cost of the six major court actions brought by up to 1,000 multinationals could blow a hole in the government’s Budget figures, costing up to £20bn.