Mandarins take their cue from Shakespeare

But Whitehall, it seems, has other ideas, and is planning to recruit a new generation of actor-manager mandarins, trained in the theatrical arts.

A leaked memo from the office of Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell reveals that an elite group of civil servants is to be given lessons by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

They will be taught how to inspire their staff by learning Shakespearean speeches and how to look less stuffy in front of television cameras.

The memo states: "The purpose is to identify a small group of senior Civil Service staff with the potential to become one of the top 200 members of the Civil Service.

"Participants will receive training from RADA in business and leadership coaching, including lessons learned from Henry V and Macbeth."

But the news that civil servants will be asked to recite Henry V's famous rally cry to his troops - "Cry God for Harry, England and St George' - prompted a sceptical response from one senior civil servant.

He said: "I hope the politically correct brigade don't hear about it. It might be deemed to be religious discrimination, sexist and nationalist."

What aspiring mandarins can learn from Macbeth is less clear, though Mr Brown will not welcome parallels between his own Scots-dominated Cabinet and the Scottish tragedy.

And the three witches hardly provide good role models for ambitious women civil servants.