A PSYCHOLOGIST who claimed Marmite could help end the Arab-Israeli conflict is to open a 'creative thinking' centre in Manchester.

Lateral-thinking expert Edward de Bono has been hired by governments and major corporations.

He once blamed the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians on a low-zinc regional diet, making people more irritable and aggressive. Zinc-rich foods such as Marmite could help, he told the Foreign Office.

He is to launch the Centre for Serious Creativity and Constructive Thinking in a deal with Manchester Metropolitan University's institute of education.

It will aim to give trainee teachers the ability to think creatively and is the first of its kind in Britain.

The Maltese-born expert is known for 'out of the box' ideas and has travelled the world advising businesses such as Boeing, BT and Nokia.

He famously suggested scrapping penalty shootouts in football, saying it would be fairer to award the game to the team with most shots on goal.

Leftfield

While some of his high-profile recommendations have been regarded as too leftfield, many theories are now standard in business and psychology textbooks.

Originally trained as a doctor, Dr de Bono, 75, has published dozens of books and is also the inventor of a number of board games based on creative thinking.

MMU is one of the biggest teacher training centres in the country and bosses say Dr de Bono has published a number of recommendations aimed at children such as new ways of teaching numeracy, fighting childhood obesity and sports coaching.

John Brooks, vice-chancellor of MMU, said: "We are very proud that we have been chosen to host this centre, which will produce work of a national and international significance.

"Much of Edward de Bono's thinking about leadership and creativity has an absolute place in the development of teachers and headteachers.

"If we can improve the quality of leadership in schools, we can improve them across the board."

One of the first activities at the new centre will be a series of workshops for pupils and teachers.

One will involve children at St Ambrose Barlow in Salford speaking with local people to identify five challenges in their community.