Abdelazi Bouteflika, president of Algeria - where journalists can be prosecuted for insulting state officials. Algeria is a client of a Whitehall unit that provides civil service spin doctors to improve a government’s image

Whitehall is sending teams of Civil Service spin-doctors to improve the image of governments in the Middle East, North Africa and South America.

A unit has been created in the prime minister’s office to offer “consultancy services” in areas including “crisis communications” and establishing “political clarity”.

Clients include Jordan, Tunisia, Ukraine and Afghanistan, and introductory meetings have taken place with the governments of Egypt and Algeria.

Recruitment is under way to fill up to 12 positions and there are plans to expand the knowledge and capability building unit’s consultancy services. Its budget last year was £2 million but this is expected to increase as more civil servants are hired.

Human rights groups questioned whether British civil servants should be assisting countries with repressive censorship and