Pandora: More drama for Prezza as theatre group moves in

Going by the revelations of recent months, one might assume that staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister need little assistance to spice up their interpersonal relations.

The department - described by civil servants as a "pantomime horse" - was used by John Prescott to conduct an affair with his diary secretary, Tracey Temple.

Interesting, then, to note that a theatre company was drafted in to offer Prescott's personnel role-play workshops tackling bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Before you start imagining Whitehall officials standing in a circle waving their arms, pretending to be trees to get in touch with their inner chi, this is a serious business: 10 per cent of ODPM staff complained of being bullied last year.

AKT Productions, a respected theatre company that has worked for British Airways, BT and the Home Office, turned up to give "behaviour training". "It is widely agreed that in some situations role play and the use of actors makes the training effective," a Government spokesman explains.

I understand that Mr Prescott, left, did not attend the acting workshops, nor did staff use the cowboy outfit he was gifted by the billionaire casino bidder Philip Anschutz as a prop.

"Of course it is vital to make sure that people are comfortable in the workplace," comments Tory MP Eric Pickles, shadow minister for local government. "But you would have thought that they've had enough drama down there this year."

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