The Home Office has faced criticism after it emerged that civil servants were offered discounted massages during working hours, while the department grapples with multiple crises including a surge in migrant boat crossings and protests. The offer, circulated by the in-house beauty clinic '2MS', provides five 30-minute massages for £145 throughout September.
The private clinic, located in the Home Office basement and operating since 2009, is exclusively accessible to civil servants and is open during standard working days, offering a range of treatments. A Home Office spokesperson stated that the department does not fund or operate the business, which has been part of the privately-run fitness facilities for over fifteen years. The spokesperson added that civil servants wishing to use the services must do so in their own time, not during normal working hours, a policy that has been in place under successive governments.
Politicians and watchdog groups have voiced strong disapproval of the timing and nature of the offer. Chris Philp, the Conservatives' shadow Home Secretary, called the offer "completely absurd" and stated it "makes a mockery of the government's claims to be treating border security with the seriousness it warrants." He argued that civil servants should be focused on border security matters rather than indulging in such services while on duty.
Danny Kruger of Reform UK described the situation as a "purest possible snapshot of Whitehall's terminal lethargy." William Yarwood from the Taxpayers' Alliance added that Home Office officials should be tackling the department's mounting crises instead of taking time off for discounted massages, emphasizing that promoting such treatments during office hours undermines taxpayer funding of salaries.