The Home Office has been criticised after it emerged that civil servants were offered discounted massages and beauty treatments to be used during working hours, even as the department grapples with rising Channel crossings and unrest linked to masked protests in Dover. A round robin email circulated on Monday from the privately-run 2MS Beauty Clinic, based in the department's basement, advertised the offer, prompting accusations from opposition figures that officials' priorities are misplaced while border security issues mount.

The clinic offered five 30-minute massages for £145 throughout September, with other treatments including a 60-minute manicure at £41.50, an hour-long Swedish massage at £61, and Brazilian waxing, available only during its Monday, Tuesday and Thursday opening hours of noon to 7pm. Critics including Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Reform UK's Danny Kruger condemned the timing, coming a day after 625 migrants crossed the Channel. The Home Office said the clinic, open for 15 years, is privately run and unfunded by the department, and that staff must only use it in their own time, not during work hours.