The new Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has instructed all staff in his new office to use imperial measurements and refer to ‘non-titled males’ as ‘esquire’.

Issuing a style guide in the first week of his job, he also bans colleagues from using various words in correspondence with other MPs and the public.

Among the list of bizarre rules, he asks staff not to use the words “got”, “very” or “equal”.

These are the list of words Jacob Rees-Mogg deems 'no longer fit for purpose'. Credit: ITV News

Nicknamed the ‘Honourable Member for the 18th Century', Mr Rees-Mogg is known for his formal dress and love of tradition.

In a long list of dos and don’ts, he also asks that all MPs are addressed with the title Esq after their name and tells staff “CHECK your work”.

The EU has issued several directives over the decades asking member states to use metric measurements.

The UK has been a late adopter of the system, continuing to use miles rather than kilometres on road signs, for example.

Mr Rees-Mogg makes clear he would prefer staff to always use imperial measurements, most of which were phased out from the mid-1960s.