FOREIGN Secretary Jack Straw has embarked on a new year diet after he realised Britain's presidency of the European Union had made him podgy.

Six months of back-to-back meetings, including dozens of working lunches and late night meals with fellow ministers, have left the Blackburn MP more than half a stone heavier.

And the continual cups of tea and coffee have taught Mr Straw that you need a vital skill to keep up with European counterparts -- a strong bladder!

He admitted: "Much as I like fillet steak and fois gras, I've seen enough of it in the last six months to make the sight of a few meals of raw cabbage seem quite appealing."

Under EU rules, the presidency of the Europe-wide organisation passes from one member country to the next every six months. Britain took over on July 1, and handed over to Austria on December 31.

Mr Straw's role as Foreign Secretary meant he regularly spent days chairing meetings between member states on a wide range of issues, often running late into the night.

He said: "The particularly annoying thing is the food is always very good, but I often didn't know what I was eating.

"At the meals, we would continue working, with the headphones on for translation and being in the chair I would be trying to hold it all together.

"I often ate what was in front of me, then realised I'd eaten too much."

He added: "There are many skills which I've felt are important to this job, but along with reading and writing, I've now added having a strong bladder, because I've needed one, and my successor will too."

Mr Straw embarked on a fitness regime, and crammed in a session at a Westminster gymnasium before flying out to Lebanon and Iraq yesterday.

He said: "I won't be following any plan as such, just eating sensibly and trying to exercise more.

"I might suggest they replace biscuits, which seem to be on constant supply at these meetings, with fruit and perhaps they could serve a little less tea and coffee."