20,000 civil servants strike

About 20,000 civil servants across four Government departments are today due to stage a two-day walkout in protests over pay.

Union leaders claim the strike will cause havoc in courts across the UK.

The action - by Home Office, prison service, Treasury and Department for Constitutional Affairs staff - is part of a campaign against low wages.

However, planned strikes by 165,000 JobCentre, Benefits Office and Department for Work and Pensions employees were suspended at the last minute following-separate pay offers from management.

General secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, said low pay in the civil service was "endemic".

One out of every four civil servants earn less than £13,750 a year, he added. Management had offered only a 0.5 per cent "cost of living" rise in some cases.

"Strike action is a last resort for our members," he said.