Hartnett envious of Russell Brand's figures

IF TS was asked to compare HMRC permanent secretary Dave Hartnett with any celebrity, there is only one answer: Russell Brand. A maverick nature, upsetting the establishment, a - let's say - "mixed" public opinion and the way that a high percentage of people that come into contact with them come away feeling [insert favoured adjective here].

But one area where they cannot be compared is in Twitter followers. Whereas Brand has 2,600,000 followers, HMRC was proud to announce its 3,000th follower the other day.

HMRC press officer Francis Taylor said: "We realise we cannot compete with the likes of Stephen Fry and Russell Brand when it comes to followers, but the account has been far more successful than we predicted, with twice as many followers as we anticipated after six months."

Perhaps Hartnett should follow Brand's tweeting style - choice messages include "Mum, dating messianic leader of motorbike gang but fancy his sly mate. Gonna bath with em both" and "Mentor me Alex Baldwin. Mentor me till the sky splits like a sheet and I can see sound and hear colour".

Or maybe a change of image (pictured) will suffice.