Turn yourself into 'Bling' Campbell, leader is urged

MPs want him to cosmetically enhance his appearances at Prime Ministers' Questions, where he has failed to shine since taking over from Charles Kennedy. The impression of stuttering uncertainty given in a number of poor performances is worsened by his refusal to trouble the compact case, they believe.

David Cameron and Tony Blair have no inhibitions about being made up and Sir Menzies, 65, should follow suit, says one leading Lib Dem MP.

"He needs to use every trick in the book to counter the advantages that the other two enjoy," he said immediately after another mostly lacklustre outing last Wednesday.

Speculation about Sir Menzies' leadership is continuing to mount despite his very public reprimand to Simon Hughes, who suggested he had until the autumn to prove himself.

The man widely seen as the most likely to succeed him is Nick Clegg, the party's home affairs spokesman.