New research showed 37% of us told white lies to our partners within the last week, while 45% believe it is totally acceptable to bend the truth when it suits us.

The survey, conducted by Four Star Pizza, also found that 32% believe in lying to get out of trouble, while 28% of participants do it to protect the feelings of others.

The survey of more than 1,000 Irish people revealed that when asked who would the respondents be most likely to lie to, their parents came out on top with a staggering 52%, followed closely by their boss at 47%, and their children at 24%.

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When it comes to social media almost one in four have told blatant lies, with 58% of those doing so to try to project a better image of themselves than reality would suggest, and 20% doing it for more ‘likes’.

Commenting on the research to mark International Honesty Day, leading body language expert and ‘human lie-detector’ Darren Stanton, said: “It’s no surprise that the little white lie is as common as ever, however we know from a moral perspective that bigger mis-truths are less acceptable, something we’re told over and over again as children.

"Perhaps we could do with some moral re-direction as adults?"

Brian Clarke, Four Star Pizza, said: “It’s great to see we are still a nation of chancers! For the most part white lies are fairly harmless and a world of complete honesty could become quite a boring place."