Now, Brit civil servants get grooming lessons!

London, Apr.21 : Senior British bureaucrats are being offered taxpayer-funded classes to improve their dress sense and personal grooming.

The two-day course at the National School of Government costs 970 pounds and aims to help participants "balance the professional persona with natural style", reports The Telegraph.

Apart from being advised about the importance of keeping hair and nails clean and shown how to apply subtle make-up, Whitehall's mandarins are taken on a tour of shops where they are given tips about how to match their body shape and colouring with the clothes they buy.

The course, called Developing Style and Presence, includes coaching on good posture using the Alexander Technique, which helps banish habits that aggravate or can cause stress, pain and under-performance.

It has proved so popular that next month's course for senior and middle managers is fully booked.

Philip Hammond, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, however, said the Government must do better that sending civil servants on grooming courses, which seemed a ridiculous waste of money.

ANI