GOVERNMENT press officers are set to become even more, er, persuasive. All have been invited to a University of London seminar next month given by none other than Maggie Thatcher's former spin doctor, Sir Bernard Ingham. The event, billed as a masterclass, will examine the demands put on organisations by the media and how to deal with nasty hacks who now are so suspicious that they "believe they only have to dig and they will inevitably find something nasty."

Organisations will examine whether they want to set up "a barrier or a bridge" and do a role play on "handling a hot potato". The Margin can think of a few who would benefit! And all for the price of £225 per person plus VAT.