Civil servants face move from London

A huge shift of civil service jobs away from Whitehall could see up to 60,000 posts transferred out of London and the South-East over the next few years.

Ministers want to "regenerate" towns and cities across Britain with an influx of public-sector jobs.

The Government could also save billions of pounds in salaries - which would be lower outside London - and by selling expensive property and land in the capital.

The blueprint for the revolution, which could change the face of Whitehall within 20 years, will be outlined on Monday by Sir Michael Lyons, director of the Institute of Local Government Studies at Birmingham University. His report is expected to win the full endorsement of Chancellor Gordon Brown, who commissioned his study last year.

His initial plan will relocate 20,000 jobs - costing hundreds of millions in "start-up" expenses in the regions but saving £2 billion within 15 years.

Sir Michael hopes that the figure will rise to 60,000 in 20 years if Whitehall departments show an ambition to shift posts. However, the move is likely to be fought fiercely both by civil service unions and senior Whitehall officials who will oppose moves to break up the London-based empires.

Every department is likely to come under Sir Michael's spotlight - but the Treasury, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions are likely to shift the greatest numbers of posts.

Sir Michael called for a " wholesale change" in attitude from ministers and senior civil servants towards a regime which he claimed would both regenerate the regions and help lift the burden on London's creaking public services. Office costs outside the capital would average out at 30 per cent less.