The fact some Cabinet members have managed to maintain their hairstyles 12 weeks into lockdown is raising a few eyebrows - under overgrown hair - in Stevenage.

Hair salons closed when the UK went into lockdown on March 23 in a bid to help slow the spread of coronavirus, and are not expected to reopen until July 4 at the earliest.

It has left people either struggling to tame their unruly long locks, reaching for the clippers, or resorting to cutting their own hair - often with disastrous results.

But some Cabinet ministers - including First Secretary of State Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland - have somehow managed to maintain a short back and sides throughout lockdown.

This oddity has not gone unnoticed in Stevenage. “It’s amazing they all live with hairdressers - that was good forward planning,” scoffed Rachel Jackson.

Emma Blackman added: “It’s a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ mentality coming from the government.”

A deputy headteacher, who asked not to be named, said: “It seems to be one rule for them and one for everyone else. First Dominic Cummings flouts his own government’s rules to suit his personal needs, and now it’s becoming increasingly suspicious that the likes of Matt Hancock have been able to maintain their hairstyles three months into lockdown.

“The government’s strategy for tackling the coronavirus relies entirely on the willingness of the population to comply, but the doubt cast over whether Cabinet ministers are following their own rules, and with lockdown fatigue increasing, this willingness is being tested to the limit.”

It must be said, Prime Minister Boris Johnson still looks like he’s been nowhere near a barbers, and there are some Cabinet ministers, including Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Transport and Welwyn Hatfield MP - who have reassuringly longer locks than usual.

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg this week said: “I’ve never had longer hair and I’m beginning to wonder whether I ought to ask Nanny if she can find a pudding bowl and see if something can be done as an emergency measure.”

After he was heckled, he replied: “Of course nanny is part of the household, what a daft question.”

When this newspaper asked the Cabinet Office to explain HOW some members of Cabinet are able to maintain their hairstyles while still observing the government-imposed social distancing restrictions, a spokesman said: “Ministers are observing social distancing guidance. Government guidance for businesses sets out that hairdressers must remain closed.”

When pressed to answer the question, there was no response.